INVESTIGATION
CUSTOMERS GET SNIFFY OVER NEW CAR DELAYS AS DEALERS BEAR BRUNT OF CHIP SHORTAGE
The semiconductor crisis is hitting different manufacturers in different ways, James Baggott discovers, but it’s all having a serious effect.
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ome car manufacturers are cancelling new car orders and asking customers to reorder different models as the semiconductor chip shortage worsens. Car Dealer has been contacted by several disgruntled customers – one of whom was told their new Land Rover would need to be reordered and they would now have to wait 18 months instead of three for their new car. Another, a BMW buyer, said he’d been told that his new 1 Series had been delayed for the third time and there was no estimate at all as to when it would be built. The internet is awash with complaints from angry customers as the chip shortage affects some of the biggest car makers, including Ford, VW Group, Mercedes and BMW. Consumer titles such as What Car? and Autocar are also fielding angry complaints from people who are waiting for new cars. Some manufacturers have been forced to quietly remove models from their lineups, drastically alter specifications and even supply some cars with a single key as semiconductors are sparingly used. Dealer groups including Lookers, Vertu, Marshall and Cambria have all warned of new car production issues potentially impacting on their businesses in recent updates – and most showrooms are having to fend off angry customers affected by delays. Peter Vardy told Car Dealer that some of the decisions being made by manufacturers were increasingly tricky to communicate to customers. ‘It’s a difficult position, and clearly we need to be careful about customer communication throughout this,’ he said. ‘I can see that the brands that just focus on producing the cars that make them the most money at this time might live to regret that. ‘Customers don’t forget how you make them feel, and there are plenty of folks unsettled post-pandemic and if we aren’t more careful we will have long-lasting guest dissatisfaction.’ Sytner chief executive Darren Edwards told Car Dealer that his group’s brands were being affected in different ways. ‘The majority of our manufacturer partners are impacted to a greater or lesser degree,’ he said. ‘Some models have significantly extended lead times and some have had standard features and options amended to enable them to still be built. ‘Some manufacturers have even reduced the amount of keys provided as standard. ‘Managing customer expectations under these unique circumstances is a skill that our teams have had to become very proficient at, and I am glad to say that because of their magnificent efforts it has not affected order take.’ 8 | CarDealerMag.co.uk
Some models have significantly extended lead times and some have had standard features and options amended to enable them to still be built. Darren Edwards
