Suppliers ~ IAC ~ Complete Vehicle Interior

[DCPU]

So this first part isn't new ~ it's just the relevant excerpt from the Ineos Supplier Bulletin dated August 2021:

 

[DCPU]

This bit's new.

Taken from LinkedIn yesterday.



I'm sure there are many ways to read the post, but given the lack of information regarding delays, one has to be consternation at a possibility that they are only at the stage of conducting trials on tools to form parts needed on the production line before series production.

 

[bemax]

And then everything has to go through customs in France. When the parts are finally in Hambach, the employees will probably go on strike again...

 

[DCPU]

I thought you meant Ineos employees in the Hambach factory had been on strike...but were you referring to this?

"The two-seater Smart is also manufactured in the Hambach plant. It has been agreed with Mercedes that production should run at least until April 2024. Most recently, however, production had stalled because employees at the largest supplier, Hambach Automotive Exteriors (HAE), went on strike. The company supplies exterior parts for the various models of the Smart city car.

According to Mercedes, this has led to a significant drop in deliveries. While 2245 vehicles left the factory in May, there were only 1491 in June, 453 in July and 289 in August. According to Ineos, production is now running in two shifts again. However, it may still take months to catch up ."

12ft

 

[Shaky]

I can’t remember what thread it was in but the Facebook post from the guy in the UK who said his November build slot had now shown as March 23 isn’t going to be far off the mark if you ask me.

Has anyone actually seen let alone driven a full production vehicle yet ? Not to my knowledge.

Mine is supposed to be built next month.….not a chance in hell it will be started this side of Christmas if you ask me. It doesn’t really matter to me, I can wait bit for many who have sold vehicle to make way or have leases finishing it’s going to be a real decision whether they proceed or not

 

[bemax]

I thought you meant Ineos employees in the Hambach factory had been on strike...but were you referring to this?

"The two-seater Smart is also manufactured in the Hambach plant. It has been agreed with Mercedes that production should run at least until April 2024. Most recently, however, production had stalled because employees at the largest supplier, Hambach Automotive Exteriors (HAE), went on strike. The company supplies exterior parts for the various models of the Smart city car.

According to Mercedes, this has led to a significant drop in deliveries. While 2245 vehicles left the factory in May, there were only 1491 in June, 453 in July and 289 in August. According to Ineos, production is now running in two shifts again. However, it may still take months to catch up ."

12ft

I didn’t mention it before. On my test drive I asked a technical employee of IA what the issues with the delay are. He told me different things on was that the temporary workers in France had been in strike in the summer.