Land Rover Defender Production Halted Over Chip Shortage

The British automaker has been facing production woes since last year.

By now, you should be aware that the automotive industry is facing another adversary other than the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s the semiconductor shortage that has affected various industries globally. Land Rover is the latest automaker to face production woes and it’s affecting the new Defender and Discovery.

According to a report by Autocar, the British automaker has paused production in its facility in Nitra, Slovakia as a result of the global chip shortage. The plant has a capacity of making 150,000 vehicles annually.

Gallery: 2021 Land Rover Defender 90: First Drive








A JLR spokesperson told the British publication that the company is indeed facing supply chain issues due to the coronavirus pandemic and availability of semiconductors. This has affected their production schedule, resulting to the reported adjustments.

The spokesperson also added that the company is working closely with its suppliers to resolve the issue and minimize impact on customer orders. However, no timeline was given as to when the production at the Slovakian site will resume. With this, wait times for the Defender and Discovery will expectedly increase as a result of the plant closure.

JLR has been facing production issues since last year. More than a year ago, the company has announced that there’s a short supply of Land Rover Defenders due to limited production as an effect of the pandemic.

In the age of technology, cars use a lot of semiconductors to support its system that’s run by computers. With increased complexity of car features comes an increased dependence in computers, ergo, dependence in semiconductors.

At this point, there isn’t a clear resolution to the current global chip shortage. With that said, expect more production schedules being adjusted along with short supply of cars to meet customer demands.

Source:

Autocar

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