‘Horrendous delays’: Buyers could wait up to 10 months for a new car

Aussie shoppers ready splash out on a new car may be faced to wait until the end of the year to get their hands on a new ride. This is why.

New car buyers on the hunt for a ride need to pump the brakes as “horrendous” delays for new cars last several months.

The reason for the delays is a global shortage of semiconductors, a critical element in news cars used in a broad range of features such as safety systems and digital touchscreens.

Data compiled by vehicle sales website PriceMyCar shows the average wait time for a new car ordered in January is 126 days, meaning buyers won’t receive their new vehicle until May – with many waiting much longer. This is down slightly on the high of 128 days recorded in December.

The Kia Sorento has a wait time of 274, the most of any vehicle.

The average wait for a new car is 126 days. Photo by Thomas Wielecki.

PriceMyCar found David Lye said the data suggests wait times may be improving.

“There are suggestions this may have peaked with a slight improvement in January partly driven by better availability in big volume brands including Toyota and Mazda,” Mr Lye said.

Luxury brands Jaguar/Land Rover and Volvo are among the worst affected, with waiting lists averaging 218 and 199 days, respectively.

Toyota, Australia’s best selling car brand for the past 25 years, has an average wait time of 180 days.

This is spearheaded by the Toyota RAV4 SUV with potential buyers forced to wait 258 days. This means owners who placed an order in January won’t get their RAV4 until October at the earliest.

Toyota Australia executive Sean Hanley apologised to customers in October for the extended delays.

You won’t get your Toyota RAV4 SUV until at least October if you order now.

Kia has three of the longest wait times for individual vehicles.

If you order a Kia Sorento today you’ll be waiting 274 days, a Kia Carnival you won’t get it for 255 days and it’ll be 225 days until you get the keys to your Kia Seltos.

Damien Meredith, Kia Australia chief operating officer, previously told News Corp Australia the long wait time for new car orders caused by the semiconductor shortage has led to a loss of about 20 per cent of possible sales as buyers get tired of waiting.

Jaguar has the longest average wait time for its vehicles.

Volkswagen Australia spokesman Paul Pottinger said customers still faced delays of “several months” to get hold of popular Tiguan variants.

“It’s not ideal but it is improving,” he said.

“It’s going to get better between now and the end of this year.”

James Voortman, the head of the Australian Automotive Dealer Association, said the situation is entirely beyond dealers’ control and it is a very challenging time for the industry.

“Supply is very tight and a lot of customers are still facing lengthy waiting periods. Most customers are understanding, as there is an acceptance that there are delays for many products, not just cars,” said Mr Voortman.

The difficult operating environment is made worse by the fact dealers aren’t sure when the supply shortage may ease.

“We keep getting the optimistic version of events, where the situation will start getting better in six months, but we believe the end of the year is more likely the best case scenario,” said Voortman.

Western Australian shoppers are hit the hardest having to wait an average of 157 days for a new car.

This is followed by South Australia (148 days), Victoria (127 days), Queensland (126 days), NSW (124).

ACT shoppers only had to wait 95 days, the shortest out of any jurisdiction. Northern Territory (108 days) and Tasmania (113 days) also fared better than the more populous states.

Peter Gee, founder of new car broker service Motor Scout, said his company is waiting on 2500 orders for customers.

“The wait times on some of these cars are just horrendous,” he said.

“Such small components are having a huge effect on the global car industry.

Some of the shortest wait times are for Chinese brands such as MG, Great Wall Motors and LDV.

China is where many of the world’s semiconductors are assembled.

Honda, Jeep and Peugeot also have shorter delivery times for new cars.

Originally published as ‘Horrendous delays’: Buyers could wait up to 10 months for a new car