April 27, 2021—General Motors president Mark Reuss called the semiconductor shortage “the worst crisis” he’s ever seen in the auto industry supply chain.
In an interview with Fox Business, Reuss voiced his concerns with the issue which has caused GM to reduce production in nearly all of its car and SUV lines to prioritize chip supply for its profitable full-size trucks. Only the production of its full-size SUVs—the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade—have continued at planned levels.
"The microchip crisis is probably the worst crisis I’ve seen in the auto industry, at least in my career, in terms of supply chain," Reuss said.
Meanwhile, car dealers are reporting record profits due to the high transaction prices they’re seeing due to the short supply.
"I'm selling about 150% of what I have on the ground," Buick-GMC dealer Mike Bowsher told Reuters. "We are selling stuff so far up in the pipeline that they're putting money down on 'in-process,' which is in the plant."
Wholesale marketplace Manheim reports the average wholesale price for a used car was $19,094 in mid-April, which was up $17,876 the prior month and $12,548 compared to April 2020 when the market was oversupplied due to the start of coronavirus lockdowns nationwide.
