Ford forced to pause Bronco production due to chip shortage, leaky factory roof
Things are a little rough at the moment for Ford's newest and most anticipated SUV.
Ford's hot retro-inspired SUV is having some production problems.
Ford has been forced to halt production of the brand-new Bronco SUV due to supply issues stemming from the global semiconductor shortage. The shortage has also interrupted production of other Ford models like F-150, according to a report published Wednesday by The Street.
Just as Bronco production was starting to get up to speed, things are being forced to grind to a halt at the plant in Wayne, Michigan, which also produces the
Ranger
pickup. Specifically, Ford will close the factory for the weeks of July 5 and July 25, Bloomberg confirmed Wednesday.
Any kind of a slowdown in Bronco production is bad news because Ford now has the task of filling hundreds of thousands of reservations for the model, which it was already struggling to do because of hardtop supplier issues. It's unclear what kind of effect these closures will have on customer delivery dates.
Ford had already walked back its promise that customer orders would be filled before any dealer stock was allocated. Ford Authority says some soft-top-equipped Broncos will go directly to dealers now, contradicting previous statements, something which is likely to leave reservation holders more than a little salty.
Then, just when you thought things couldn't get worse, Ford's factories in Michigan are experiencing further delays and production slowdowns thanks to the massive flooding that's been going on there in recent days.
Seems like a rough time to be Ford right about now.
