Analog Is In the Pipeline To Make A Comeback In New Cars

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My, how the tables turn…

We’ve covered before how different model lines from the Dodge Challenger to the Chevy Camaro and even the Ford Mustang, along with many others, have experienced production shut downs, all thanks to a shortage of microchips. Previously, automakers and industry analysts made this shortage sound like a short-term situation, but as the problem has persisted it looks like the problem will be sticking around for a while. That means so changes in what modern cars feature.

As detailed out in a recent Bloomberg report, the automotive chip shortage is now in its fifth month and the situation is getting worse, not better. In that report, an expert who covers the semiconductor industry and works for brokerage firm Sanford C Bernstein says the problem will likely continue to worsen before it improves. Increasing chip production to satisfy the rapidly expanding appetite of automakers takes a long time and that’s at least part of the problem.

Just how long will the shortages last? Well, that depends on who you ask. In past reports, all kinds of dates have been thrown around. More recently, fall or the end of the year have been projected as the end of the shortages. But Bloomberg cites an interview Mark Liu, chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. did with CBS, where he said the shortages could last until early 2022. Hopefully, that projection doesn’t get pushed back again, but it’s possible since it seems like whenever we get an update the timeline is pushed further back.

If you’ve been the target of consumer vehicle marketing in the past few years, you already know the big thing is all the cutting-edge tech loaded into new cars. There are so many bells and whistles, you’re not alone if you’ve been wondering why all that stuff is necessary. The surge in vehicle technologies is partly responsible for the rapid inflation of car prices in the past several years. As Bloomberg points out, 18% of a car’s cost was from onboard electronics in 2000. In 2020, the cost of electronic gizmos in vehicles accounts for 40% of the cost. Projections are that by 2030 electronics will make up 45% of the cost of a car.

Some automakers have scaled back on tech-heavy features in their vehicles to make their chip supply last longer. For example, Ford ditched the fuel management module in some new F-150s. General Motors says it will build some 2021 light-duty full-size trucks without a fuel management module. We’re just waiting for Ram to make a similar announcement.