Ford Motor Co. could start shipping unchipped vehicles to dealers around the country, sometime this year — vehicles that cannot be sold to consumers immediately but something to fill dealer lots that are growing barer by the day, the automaker told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, on Monday.
When back-ordered semiconductor chips become available, Ford dealers would then insert them into components in cars that customers have selected and send them home immediately and eliminate an additional wait related to post-parts shipping.
“We’re discussing this idea with our dealers so we can gauge interest. We're assessing and it's still very fluid," Ford spokesman Said Deep said. "This is a scenario we are exploring and we want to be prepared should we decide to implement, which is why we are talking to our dealers now.”