NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A highly automated Chrysler plant is experiencing technical problems that are slowing the production of the hot-selling Dodge Caliber hatchback, according to a published report.

The Detroit News reports that the Chrysler assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill., touted by some as the factory of the future, is being dogged by robots that weld and assemble cars bumping into each other. The problem is shutting production for anywhere from a few minutes to more than an hour, according to the report, with one day the plant being shut for rest of a shift.

The Chrysler plant in Belvidere, Ill., is having problems with its robots, according to a report that says it is causing shortages of the hot-selling Caliber hatchback.

The factory, which the paper reports recently started building the Jeep Compass compact SUV, is 250 vehicles a day short of its daily production target of 1,050. Production of a third vehicle, the Jeep Patriot, will start later this year.

The Caliber hatchback has been a fuel-efficient hit for Chrysler, which has seen its U.S. sales fall 5 percent this year as its lineup heavily weighted toward large SUV's, pickups and minivans have been hurt by high gasoline prices.

The company sold 43,694 Calibers since its February introduction and dealers told the News they could sell more. Many have expanding waiting lists with names of interested Caliber buyers. Dodge has 78,000 dealer orders for the Caliber, Chrysler officials told the newspaper.

Chrysler, which according to the newspaper invested $419 million in upgrading the plant, said such manufacturing woes are not uncommon given the complexity of the launch and the retooled plant.

"Right now we're in the middle of bringing on a third shift. We're in the middle of launching eight different configurations of products," Frank Ewasyshyn, Chrysler's executive vice president of manufacturing, told the newspaper. "The demand is unbelievable. We're pushing harder than ever before."

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