Wait times for new cars

I was lucky then my new Yaris came through early after only 3 months wait, some popular models have very long lead times, one or two brands have stopped taking orders.

Ordered our new Kia EV ten months ago and have been told we may get it next March now. Originally due to arrive July, then September, now unknown.

We could sell our eight month old EV for £10,000 more than we paid for it according to the dealer but buying it, even with the long wait, was the best thing ever. In the last 7 months we averaged around 1,000km/month and it has cost us not a penny to charge. I reckon our timing was perfect.

My son bought a hybrid, he was going for a Kia but the promised delivery date kept changing and he thought they were being less than honest. His current car was a Mazda so he spoke to a few Mazda dealers who had a new model out, it was more expensive than he wanted to pay but he does love a Mazda. He took it for a test drive and was given a delivery date of a month ahead. A few weeks later he got a phone call from the dealer asking if he'd be willing to take the top of the range vehicle in the same colour, that week at no additional charge. As being a new model they wanted them on the road ASAP. He agreed and has been happily driving it for around a month and absolutely loves it to bits. We have our own EV charger which makes him happy as he recharges the battery overnight at less than 8p a KW which is much cheaper than the cost of petrol currently.

I waited 8 months for a new Golf. The reason cited was shortage of computer chips. Lovely to drive but too clever for its own good, everything touch screen or slider control which drives me mad, what happened to ordinary knobs you just turned up and down! Goodness how long I’d have waited for an electric model , I bought petrol.

Of course nothing to do with broken supply chains - I am sure.

No, fp, lack of supply of chips from China.

So broken supply chain ;)

Not the ones you are normally alluding too fp.

kittylester

Not the ones you are normally alluding too fp.

I guess the children digging in the Congo for the minerals needed for the chips, of which there is a worldwide shortage just need to dig a bit harder.

China needs to drop its zero Covid policy also, then hey presto all will be right in the world eh Fleurpepper ?

(Irony post)

When I retired I bought a second hand '04 Vauxhall astra, it was three years old but only 8000 on the clock. It has now done 87000,still going well,, and while it is still compliant with the ULEZ requirements I will keep it.

It is all linked. And of course importing is so much harder now, and the cost of containers has gone berserk. The massive fall in Sterling values is also a factor. Much better for exporting countries to export where it is easier to do so, and with good exchanges rates. It makes importing massively more expensive.

There is a physical shortage of the raw materials. The chips are not available to import.

Fleurpepper

It is all linked. And of course importing is so much harder now, and the cost of containers has gone berserk. The massive fall in Sterling values is also a factor. Much better for exporting countries to export where it is easier to do so, and with good exchanges rates. It makes importing massively more expensive.

There is a Global shortage of semi-conductors, there are waiting lists for new cars worldwide.

It is possible to buy a showroom model if you are not fussy.

I tend to want what I want when spending ££££ and I am content to wait till the situation eases.

FleurPepper
As much as you would like to blame this problem on Brexit ( as you have for some years) your wrong on this one.

www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/how-china-became-ground-zero-auto-chip-shortage-2022-07-18/

Another one for you FleurPepper

www.cnbc.com/2022/11/07/from-teslas-to-bmws-cars-are-piling-up-on-land-and-sea-at-german-port.html

we can make chips in this country though, it would just be more expensive

JaneJudge

we can make chips in this country though, it would just be more expensive

Only if we could source the minerals which are in short supply.

Of course there is a worldwide shortage- but it is easier for some countries to pay a higher price for them and take priority on imports. Same for many other goods, medicines, energy, etc.

Exporters will not lower prices to help with taking sterling.

Fleurpepper

Exporters will not lower prices to help with taking sterling.

So why are other countries experiencing the same problems?

you can source the minerals but it's more expensive

Other countries are experiencing similar problems, but not quite as badly. And can afford to pay higher prices, and don't face the same issues with transport and imports.

The shortage certainly isn't Brexit, but part of it is COVID. When COVID struck and car sales fell, some of the chip manufacturers decided to close down some plants completely and when sales rose after quite a short period, they did not have the capacity to eet demand.

Building new capapcity where ever you build it is not the work of a minute. Sites must be chosen, planning agreements reached, building time may well be a year or several, then there is all the high tech plant, there may well be lags in supply and staff have to be trained off.It may well take 5 years to get new plant from concept to production.