Political | Process

Some Ford Explorers without the chips that power rear air conditioning and heating controls, according to a report from Automotive News.

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• Ford spokesperson Said Deep told The Verge that heating and air condition will still be controllable from the front seats, and that customers who choose to purchase a vehicle without the rear controls will receive a price reduction.

• According to Deep, Ford is doing this as a way to bring new Explorers to customers faster, and that the change is only temporary.

• The automaker originally had plans to ship partially-built, undrivable vehicles to dealers last year, but now, the unchipped vehicles will be both drive-able and sellable. As pointed out by Automotive News, Ford’s decision comes as an attempt to move the partially-built vehicles crowding its factory lots.

• Last month, hundreds of new Ford Broncos were spotted sitting idly in the snow-covered lots near Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant, all of which await chip-related installations.

• Like many other companies, Ford has been grappling with the constraints introduced by the chip shortage.

• After the lack of semiconductors forced Ford to scale back production of its popular F-150 last year (and once again earlier this month), it started giving customers the option to purchase the pickup without automatic start-stop, the feature that turns a vehicle’s engine off when it comes to a complete stop. Ford gave affected owners a $50 credit in return.

• Other automakers have also had to make sacrifices due to the chip shortage, with GM dropping wireless charging, HD radios, and a fuel management module that made some pickup trucks operate more efficiently.

• Meanwhile, Tesla sold some cars without USB ports and made them installable at a later date. Luxury cars haven’t been exempt from the shortage either, as Cadillac nixed its hands-free driving feature in its 2022 Escalade, while BMW began shipping some cars without touchscreens.