Chip shortage now forces car brands to exclude high-tech features

Brands such as Nissan have already slowed production but are now excluding stat nav systems. Photo: Nissan

The global chip is forcing some major automotive manufactures to leave out some high-end features such as satnav and blind-spot monitoring out of vehicles.

Now into the fifth month of shortage, brands originally slowed production to keep manufacturing continuing. But now they have to take radical steps to keep the production lines moving.

Nissan is leaving navigation systems out of thousands of vehicles that typically would have them because of the shortages. Ram no longer offers its 1500 pickups with a standard "intelligent" rearview mirror that monitors for blind spots, instead offers it as an option. 

Renault has stopped offering an oversized digital screen behind the steering wheel on its Arkana SUV – also to save on chips, according to Bloomberg.

Peugeot is going back to old-fashioned analog speedometers for its 308 hatchbacks, rather than use digital versions that need hard-to-find chips.

The shortage of NXP Semiconductor chips is due to increased car electrification. Photo: Supplied

Carmakers from Volkswagen Group to Ford have been forced to idle factories as the global chip shortage hits and recently BMW Group had to pause production.

Demand for phones, laptops and electronics during the pandemic overwhelmed suppliers, with NXP Semiconductors said it’s expecting supply to be tight all year and warned constraints for the auto industry could extend into 2022, according to Bloomberg.

One of the major issues is that chips are needed more in vehicle production due to the shift toward smarter, electric vehicles.

NXP Semiconductor CEO Kurt Sievers said the shift to EVs is happening faster than anticipated, which has added to the increased demand for automotive chips. NXP plans to ship at least 20 percent more auto chips by revenue in the first half of 2021 compared with the first half of 2019, even though car production has dropped about 10 percent over the period, he said.