The ongoing shortage in the supply of semiconductor chips is no secret in 2022. Long waiting lists and below-par production volumes of the car makers prove the magnitude of the problem. Hyundai Motors India Ltd posted a backlog order of 1.35 lakh units. All of these are only because of the sporadic availability of semiconductor chips.
Not just Hyundai, recently Maruti Suzuki posted a backlog of orders of 3.15 lakh units. Although the situation is improving as the semiconductors are now more readily available. Things are still far from normal. The demand for new cars after the subdued sales in the 2 years of lockdown is very high. Some new vehicles being sold have a waiting period of as long as 18 months.
With the growing demand, carmakers are opting for innovative ways to keep up with the production. Some car makers have decided to remove some features in order to distribute the limited supply of semiconductors efficiently. Skoda has opted to introduce new trims with lesser features in accordance with the customers’ demand and availability of semiconductor chips. The key omissions, as seen from the trend is, removing auto-fold ORVM and providing only a single electric key instead of two. Kia India has adopted the latter. It only provides a single smart key with their new car deliveries.
The rise in demand is currently outnumbering the supply. Hence, carmakers are looking at every possible solution to counter this disparity. The long waiting period is compelling buyers to opt for pre-owned cars which are readily available. It is one of the reasons why we are also witnessing a surge in the sales of pre-owned cars. Many car makers have started off with company-approved pre-owned car channels. Both the company as well as customers from this type of structure.
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