LAS VEGAS — Ford Motor Co., beset by ongoing manufacturing woes, instructed sellers on Saturday it was pushing again allocations and that wholesale deliveries shall be lighter till the top of Might, though it continues to provide autos and fill buyer orders.

Ford sellers who attended a make assembly instructed Automotive Information they didn’t anticipate new inventory allocations till the top of Might on account of manufacturing cuts, though Ford spokesman Stated Deep stated the corporate continues “constructing for each retail and inventory.”

Which means new-car showrooms which have been almost empty for months will stay so throughout what is usually a wholesome spring promoting season for the business.

Ford has misplaced 100,000 models of manufacturing on account of 37 suppliers failing to offer components as scheduled, the automaker instructed sellers in a gathering on the NADA Present right here, in accordance with three folks current.

The problem has exacerbated Ford’s stock woes which have left most dealership heaps naked. Ford stated it obtained 90,000 new-vehicle orders in January and one other 72,000 orders in February, suggesting the corporate stays hampered by a backlog of orders amid manufacturing cuts. In February, some 33 p.c of the corporate’s U.S. retail gross sales fulfilled earlier buyer orders.

Firm executives instructed retailers they won’t obtain any new-vehicle allocations till Might, the three folks stated.

Due to continued manufacturing bottlenecks, Ford executives on Saturday forecast the corporate’s U.S. gross sales in 2022 will fall roughly 12 p.c to 1.66 million, in accordance with two of the folks current, down from 1.9 million deliveries in 2021. Regardless of decrease quantity, Ford expects to seize 13.3 p.c of the U.S. market this 12 months, the 2 folks stated, which might be a rise over final 12 months on account of decrease total business quantity.

“We’re attempting to provide each automobile we will proper now,” Andrew Frick, normal supervisor for gross sales, distribution and vans for Ford Blue, instructed Automotive Information following the Saturday assembly. “We’re coping with a myriad of provide chain points like everyone seems to be.

“We’re working by way of these points proper now, and we really feel very assured about how we’re positioning our manufacturing and attempting to get as a lot move to sellers as we will.”

Automakers and analysts anticipate the business’s provide bottlenecks to largely stay by way of the primary half of 2022, with inventories slowly recovering within the second half, although some components shortages may stretch into 2023. 

Honda Motor Co. warned in early February and once more this month that the fluid provide chain continues to upend progress in bettering automobile inventories.