SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — It’s becoming more difficult to purchase the car of your choice due to a microchip shortage. The semiconductor chip is one of the most important parts of newer vehicles.
The chip can be found in almost all electronics, such as a smartphone or laptop. For most vehicles, it serves as an electrical computer contributing to in-car entertainment and driving assistance.
The president of Burritt Motors in Syracuse says the microchip shortage is increasing the demand for new vehicles while dealerships have struggled to keep up their supply. As a result, the prices of new and used cars have spiked, with some used vehicles being worth more than some new cars, according to Rich Burritt.
Some local dealerships have felt the impact of the chip shortage, as their inventory stock has taken a hit.
“I usually have about 600 new vehicles in stock. Right now, I have 40,” Burritt said.
Burritt says part of the reason these chips are in short supply is due to an issue overseas.
“There was a plant in China that produced 30 % of the microchips that burned down, so we have a 30 % reduction and an increase in demand,” he said.
For manufacturers, the chips are still being received every day, but not at the quantity they need to meet demand. To combat this, some manufacturers are changing their approach to how they make vehicles. Burritt says a lot of manufacturers are trying to reverse engineer their cars to require fewer microchips by dropping certain features.
“For Chevy Silverados, they used to sell them with 4-cylinders, and now they just sell the V-8 engine, which requires one less microchip,” Burritt said.
Burritt believes the microchip shortage should end in early 2022.
