This was bound to happen eventually to another major General Motors production facility and now it has. GM has confirmed to Automotive News its Lansing Grand River Assembly plant in Michigan will be idled beginning this Monday through the end of this month, if not longer. The reason? A lack of semiconductor chips, a crisis that continues to plague the auto industry at large, with the exception of Toyota.
Like other affected automakers, GM is using its existing semiconductor chip supply for highly profitable and extremely popular vehicles, mainly trucks and SUVs. Slow sellers and some newer models are being sacrificed instead, including the Chevy Camaro, Malibu, Cadillac CT4 and CT5, all of which are built at Lansing Grand River.
A total of 1,400 employees are employed there. Aside from the Camaro, it's unknown whether this shutdown will also affect the newly revealed CT4-V and CT5-V Blackwings. "We continue to work closely with our supply base to find solutions for our suppliers' semiconductor requirements and to mitigate impact on GM," a company spokesperson said in a statement. The goal is to later make up as much lost production as possible at this plant.
Other GM plants, such as those in Kansas City, Kansas, which also builds the Malibu along with the Equinox and Cadillac XT4, remains idled and will be until at least the middle of next month.
The Camaro continues to be the slowest-selling of Detroit's three muscle cars, putting its long-term future into doubt. Ford and Dodge remain committed to the Mustang and Challenger, respectively, but GM has not given a clear indication regarding its Camaro plans.
In late December, we reported the current sixth-generation Camaro's life has been extended from 2024 to 2026, though this is not official. If so, a second facelift will occur at some point. Beyond 2026, however, remains a mystery. Given GM's commitment only to battery electrics by 2035, it's certainly possible a seventh-gen Camaro will be all-electric. That is, of course, if there is a seventh-gen Camaro.