Ford Motor Co.'s production in Europe will continue to be affected by the global semiconductor shortage until late in the second quarter, said the automaker's regional boss, Stuart Rowley.
The shortage will stop production at Ford's factory in Saarlouis, Germany, where it builds the Focus compact car, for five weeks Rowley told Automotive News Europe. "That is a huge impact on our operations," he said.
Ford's plant in Valencia, Spain, is the second worst hit, he said.
"We have taken significant downtime and lost production," Rowley said. He did not specify how much production has been lost.
Microchip shortages at Valencia affected production of the Kuga crossover, Mondeo midsize model and Galaxy minivan, he said.
Ford's factory in Cologne, Germany, home of the Fiesta small hatchback, was also impacted but to a "relatively minor" extent, Rowley said.
Ford has extended short-time work in the Cologne and Valencia plants, as well as in…