GM drops wireless charging in US SUVs due to chip shortages

Car manufacturer General Motors has decided that certain SUV models, intended for the American market, will no longer receive support for wireless charging of smartphones. This is the result of global chip shortages.

According to GM Authority Blog, certain versions of the Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Suburban and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL will be produced on or after July 12. The automaker tells The Verge that certain 2022 Buick Enclaves, Chevy Traverses and Cadillac XT5 and XT6 cars made after August 2 will also have to do without wireless charging. With the removal of this support, General Motors hopes to be able to continue production of these vehicles.

In a response, GM said that it is doing everything it can to counter the short-term effects of the chip shortages, but that the situation is still unstable worldwide. Customers will receive a $75 compensation from GM and previously there was a $50 compensation for missing HD radio in some models. For the same reasons, GM already removed the start-stop system from V8 versions of Sierra and Silverado cars from 2021 and 2022. Other car manufacturers also have these kinds of problems. For example, because of the chip shortages, Renault decided to place a smaller display behind the wheel of its Arkana SUV.

GM previously shut down three car factories due to chip shortages and, for example, Ford temporarily closed a number of production lines of the F-150. At the beginning of this year, several car manufacturers already expressed the fear that they could produce fewer cars because of the problem. It is not yet clear when the situation will return to normal. Chip manufacturer TSMC said in April that the shortages are likely to continue until 2022, although carmakers should be less affected by the shortages from the third quarter.