Over 7L car buyers in queue to take delivery

Over 7L car buyers in queue to take delivery

Pankaj.Doval@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 16.12.2021

If you are one of those who is anxiously waiting to get delivery of your new car but still can’t get hold of a confirmed date, don’t fret. You are one among the over 7 lakh buyers who are fighting a frustrating waiting period running into months, and sometimes almost a year.

The shortage of semiconductors and the sudden surge in demand post opening of the economy, as well as launch of new models — some of which have become blockbusters — has meant a long queue for deliveries as buyers scramble to purchase the vehicles. Sadly, for many, the delay in delivery means that they will need to pay more for their vehicle as prices applicable at the time of delivery need to be paid. Inputs costs have on an average increased by around 6% since the beginning of this year.

Chip shortage hits EV biz hard

There are waiting periods running into several months, and even a year for some, and the top models include Mahindra XUV7OO SUV, Maruti’s CNG variants, and SUVs such as Hyundai’s Creta, Kia’s Seltos, MG’s Astor, Tata’s Punch, Mercedes’s GLS, and Audi’s eTron electric.

So, how long is the waiting list that customers are enduring across individual brands? Maruti, the country’s biggest car maker with some of the most popular models, has a customer backlog of as many as over 2.5 lakh cars. Company MD & CEO Kenichi Ayukawa has often apologised to buyers for the delays, and top officials say that the situation is unprecedented.

“I have never seen this kind of a situation ever in my long career,” Maruti director (sales & marketing) Shashank Srivastava says. “The waiting period is across models, for almost all the manufacturers.”

Hyundai, the second biggest maker, has an equally big problem to tackle with over one lakh undelivered vehicles. Company MD S S Kim says that customers are always kept in the loop about delivery positions to ensure transparency.

The global shortage of semiconductors has emerged as a big impediment to any chances of an early ramp-up in production, and companies say that it will take time for the situation to normalise. The current assessment is that the problem will persist at least until the first half of 2022.

Tata Motors, which is riding high on the success of new models, is also estimated to have a waiting backlog of over one lakh cars. “Waiting period for various models varies between one and six months. Overall, our pending bookings are more than 3.5 times of our monthly sales,” Shailesh Chandra, president of Tata Motors’ passenger vehicles business, says.

The chip shortage, in fact, is having a very negative impact on the nascent electric vehicles business. Green vehicles pack in a lot of technology and require numerous chips as part of their architecture. Chandra agrees, “For electrics, the waiting period is the highest, and we are fast ramping up our supplies.” Then there are other companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra, which have seen superlative demand for new launches such as the Thar and the XUV7OO SUVs. Company director (auto sector) Rajesh Jejurikar has often said that the order-book has even surpassed their internal expectations by a wide margin, with delivery schedules spread across months.

According to dealer estimates, the delivery schedules for certain variants of the Thar are as long as one year, and the XUV7OO has seen an even faster ramp-up with the initial 50,000 bookings made in just two days.

Full report on www.toi.in

Waiting periods are running into several months, and even a year for some models