There is always a growing fear that our beloved Mustang’s production is going to come to a screeching stop because of emission requirements. The thought process has been concreted in our minds as the EPA has tried for decades to neuter the performance of the Ford Mustang. However, a new reason has been surfacing the last few years and can accurately be described in three key words: supply chain issues. The constant sting of supply chain issues has started to bring vehicle production to a crawl. These same issues have now brought the Pony car production to a halt faster than the six-piston Brembo brakes on a Performance Package Mustang GT could.

Ford Motor Company announced they would be pausing production at its Flat Rock Assembly Plant because of a supply chain issue. In case you were not aware, the Flat Rock location produces only Ford Mustangs. While this is meant to be a brief pause to allow the restocking of semiconductors, it is cause for concern to see a factory, even temporarily, put production on hold with a market full of eager buyers.

Why is there a shortage to begin with? It would be nice to find the supply chain manager in charge and accuse them, but all fingers point at COVID once again. COVID caused our workplace environment and buying tendencies to be completely uprooted in 2019. Vehicle manufacturers saw a dramatic decrease in new vehicle purchases and decided to use up their stock of semiconductors before purchasing more. At the same time, personal computers and gaming consoles skyrocketed as everyone was trying to figure out how to work and play from home. Now that new vehicle purchases are back on track, the semiconductor industry is scrambling to make up for the influx of requested purchases from the automotive industry.

Ford Motor Company stated they hope to have the plant back to full operation by April 11th 2022. This reinstatement of production will hopefully also alleviate the drop in Q1 sales resulting from a lack of inventory. Meanwhile, I just hope it curtails the outrageous pricing the used market has been seeing!