Stellantis says some N.A. production disrupted by cyberattack at supplier Yanfeng; GM monitoring 'closely'

Chinese automotive supplier Yanfeng Automotive Interiors has been hit with a cyberattack that is impacting its operations and disrupting production at assembly plants in North America.

Stellantis on Monday said the situation is disrupting production. "Due to an issue with an external supplier, production at some of Stellantis' North America assembly plants has been disrupted," spokeswoman Ann Marie Fortunate told Crain's Detroit Business, an affiliate of Automotive News. "We are monitoring the situation and working with the supplier to mitigate any further impact to our operations."

The Chrysler parent company declined to identify which plants were impacted by the disruption.

Yanfeng, whose North American base is in Novi, manufactures seats, interiors, electronics and other parts for automakers on a just-in-time basis. Its website appeared to be broken Monday.

General Motors spokesman Kevin Kelly confirmed the disruption at its supplier.

"We're closely monitoring the situation working closely with the supplier to help limit any impact to our operations," he told Crain's.

Crain's left messages with Yanfeng seeking more information and also contacted Ford Motor Co. about potential impacts to production.

Cyber and ransomware attacks are on the rise around the world, including in Michigan. In August, the University of Michigan was hit by a data breach that impacted 230,000 students and employees. A few months before that, Zeeland-based automotive supplier Gentex Corp. suffered a cyberattack.