New car delays blow out by 250 per cent

The typical waiting time for a new car in Australia increased by 250 per cent since the start of the Pandemic, with the average time for many models extending beyond six months, according to figures released by vehicle pricing advice website PriceMyCar.com.au.

The data, compiled with information from dealers, vehicle brokers and buyers who enter the price of a vehicle and its estimated delivery date, shows the average national waiting time for a new vehicle has increased from 36 days in January 2020 to 126 days in January 2022.

The estimated delivery dates, which are collated by make and model, and by state, reveal the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) group topped the list last month with an average 218-day wait, followed by Volvo (199), Isuzu (189), Toyota (180) and Kia (173).

JLR Australia did not dispute the figure, with a spokesperson telling WhichCar the company was currently experiencing Covid-19 supply chain disruption, including the global availability of semiconductors, which is having an impact on its production schedules.

"We are working closely with affected suppliers to resolve the issues and minimise the impact on customer orders wherever possible," they said.

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Average Jaguar and Land Rover wait times from January 2022 stretched out to 218 days

Kia's delivery woes were led by its Sorento large SUV, which, according to PriceMyCar had the longest waiting period of any new model of 274 days or nine months due to the plug-in hybrid version facing delays of about 10-months due to high demand for it in Europe.

A Kia Australia spokesperson said the Korean carmaker was also beset by various component shortages, which continued to impact mainly the higher specification grades of several models across the Kia range, which also include the Seltos and Carnival that according to PriceMyCar are subject to delays of 255 and 225 days respectively.

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"We have been and will continue, to work closely with Kia HQ to source more supply and expedite delivery where possible," the spokesperson said.

"Kia Australia does provide customers with the opportunity to cancel their order and receive a full deposit refund if the wait time exceeds their required time frame for a vehicle."

Damn lies and statistics

As the Sorento PHEV showed, the total average waiting time for particular brands could be skewed by a particular model or variant, which Volvo Australia was keen to point out when disputing the 199-day waiting period that saw it come second to JLR on the list.

A Volvo spokesperson told WhichCar that figure was inflated by the high demand for its XC40 Recharge EV and PHEV variants that, due to being available in limited numbers, were selling out before they arrived.

They said there is a steady supply for all other models, including the petrol XC40 variants, with 30 days worth of stock on the ground. They added there were 400 unsold vehicles with another 1000 to arrive this month.

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PriceMyCar founder and CEO Dave Lye conceded the total figures can be affected due to certain models and variants being in high demand.

He said it was difficult to split models into separate variants, which is why XC40 is listed as having a 221 day waiting period, despite the availability of the petrol versions.

He added that because estimated waiting times are partly crowd-sourced from buyers the system was better suited to popular mainstream models.

Delays may have peaked

People in Western Australia have the longest waiting period in the country, an average of 157 days, with that number not helped by continuing border closures and the popularity of Toyota HiLux and LandCruiser 300, which by January 22 were experiencing national average waiting times of 155 and 200 days.

Expect that LandCruiser 300 figure to rise across Australia, with Toyota warning of production shutdowns in Japan due to COVID-19-related parts shortages, which have plagued the industry.

Also affected is the RAV4, which has an average waiting time of 258 days, led by demand for the popular hybrid variants. This likely explains why Australia's most popular SUV of 2021 dropped out of the top-10 sales list in January 2022.

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It's not just the global supply-chain chaos that are affecting vehicle deliveries Down Under. Australia is down the pecking order when it comes to receiving more efficient vehicles, including EVs and hybrids, with factories prioritising markets with stronger emissions laws than Australia’s lax regulations – according to Kia this is a key reason for the delays facing the Kia Sorento PHEV.

The good news is the waiting times may have peaked, with numbers slightly down from December 2021, which saw a peak average national waiting period of 128 days, but a slight downward curve for most of the worst affected models – hopefully, this will become a trend.

If you need a new car quickly in the meantime, Peugeot has the quickest turnaround of 42 days, followed by Honda (55), MG (60), Jeep (63) and LDV (65).

Tesla did not feature in the PriceMyCar data, but WhichCar has heard from Model 3 buyers who have been told to expect a waiting period of 14 to 20 weeks.

Waiting times in the above story and tables are based on those reported in January 2022 by pricemycar.com.au, which were the most current at the time of writing.

Click here to look up updated waiting times for particular makes and models. WhichCar recommends that you double-check any figures for a car you are interested in purchasing with the appropriate dealership.