7:00 am, August 10, 2022
Only a tiny minority of new car buyers are willing to wait more than a year for their next vehicle to arrive.
That’s according to research published today (Aug 10) by What Car? in the wake of the worldwide semiconductor shortage, which has sent vehicle lead times to beyond 12 months for some models.
Although people are aware of the long delays, its poll of 1,640 in-market buyers, of which 739 were seeking a new car, found that just 4.5 per cent of them were prepared to wait longer than 12 months for their next vehicle.
Just over one in 10 (10.3 per cent) said they’d wait between nine and 12 months, while 18.1 per cent said they expected to receive their car between six and nine months of placing an order.
More than a third (36.5 per cent) expected it delivered within one to three months, and 30.6 per cent within three to six months.
When waiting times couldn’t be met, 48.4 per cent of new car buyers told What Car? they’d be switching to a vehicle from another car maker in the hope of better stock availability.
Meanwhile, 38.7 per cent said they’d be moving to the nearly new or used market.
The rest of the new car buyers (12.9 per cent) said they’d stick with the same manufacturer but look at different models that hopefully had shorter waiting times.
The semiconductor shortage is also affecting vehicle specification levels, with manufacturers having to compromise on technologies offered.
The research found 73.2 per cent of new car buyers would be happy to buy a lower-spec vehicle than they intended.
What Car? editor Steve Huntingford said: ‘Long waiting times are the current norm, and while buyers are aware of the causes behind them, few are willing to wait longer than a year for a vehicle.
‘The result is buyers moving to manufacturers and retailers with stock or to the used market.
‘Manufacturers are working to offset long lead times, but given the semiconductor shortage is likely to extend to next year, there’s little to suggest delivery times falling anytime soon.’
