A Tiny Part’s Big Ripple: Global Chip Shortage Hobbles the Auto Industry

Almost every carmaker has had to curtail production, hampering the economic recovery.

Around the world, auto assembly lines are going quiet, workers are idle and dealership parking lots are looking bare. A shortage of semiconductors, the tiny but critical chips used to calibrate cars’ fuel injection, run infotainment systems or provide the brains for cruise control, has sent a shudder through the automaking world. A General Motors plant in Kansas City closed in February for lack of chips, and still hasn’t reopened. Mercedes-Benz has begun to hoard its chips for expensive models and is temporarily shutting down factories that produce lower-priced C-Class sedans. Porsche warned dealers in the United States this month that customers might have to wait an extra 12 weeks to get their cars, because they lack a chip used to monitor tire pressure.