11:49 27-09-2025

GM resorts to 22-inch factory wheels amid transit rim shortage

General Motors has run into a fresh supply-chain snag that is affecting production of its full-size pickups and SUVs. U.S. media report the company is short of so-called transit wheels—the temporary rims fitted when a vehicle leaves the plant with an optional wheel package on order.

Under the usual process, customers receive vehicles on those placeholder wheels, dealers install the ordered accessories, and the transit sets are sent back to the factory. It’s a straightforward loop that keeps lines moving and inventory tidy.

Now, with those transit sets in short supply, some vehicles are rolling off the line already wearing factory 22-inch wheels—such as the Chrome Multi-Split Spoke design—but these are tagged as temporary and shipped without center caps. It’s an inelegant workaround that keeps production flowing, even if it complicates the handoff downstream.

Dealers are not allowed to deliver such vehicles to customers until the final wheel packages are installed. To prevent those interim rims from being sold, GM has put a $5,000 deposit in place, refunded once the wheels make it back to the plant.

Even as a stopgap, the approach underscores how a single missing piece can bottleneck a global supply chain and add friction where manufacturers and retailers meet.