Ford Mustang production impacted again

The already shaky supply of Ford Mustangs has taken another hit this week with news out of the US that production at Ford’s Flat Rock assembly plant in Michigan has been halted due to the global semi-conductor shortage.

Exactly what impact this will have on Australian supply and delivery times remains to be seen, however, carsales has contacted the local arm of Ford for confirmation given the 2022 Ford Mustang was previously due to arrive here in the second quarter of this year.

The Mustang’s supply versus demand ratio was crippled last year as a result of numerous shutdowns inflicted by the semi-conductor shortage and other COVID-related factors – something that prompted Ford to forge a new exploratory partnership with chip producer GlobalFoundries to try and mitigate the shortages.

The timing could hardly have been better given the new-generation S650 Mustang is reportedly due to go into production – at Flat Rock – in March next year.

Given the all-new S650 Mustang will be the latest iteration of one of the world’s most famous motoring icons and will continue to be produced in both left and right-hand drive configuration, it’s sell-out popularity is almost guaranteed already as demand for affordable performance cars continues to rise.

Ford isn’t the only high-volume manufacturer feeling the pinch from the prolonged semiconductor shortage; just this week Toyota announced it expects to lose 150,000 units from its February production plan as 11 production lines in eight factories go idle.

The worldwide chip shortage has also apparently delayed the launch of the hotly anticipated Tesla Cybertruck and the Australian release of the new Mercedes-Benz Class, and forced brands including and BMW to delete some standard tech features from certain models.