You’ve no doubt noticed that if you’ve been looking to buy a new car (or even a used one, indirectly…) in recent years, there’s been a big gap in distribution.

Indeed, the post-pandemic recovery has been particularly difficult to understand due to various supply issues that have led to impressive delivery times for some models. More than a year for the hybrid Skoda Octavia, more than six months for the Peugeot 308, empty warehouses of new cars… The situation for distributors was difficult. However, today the situation has improved.

Standards that quickly tightened

In addition to the commercial aspect, there were also problems among manufacturers. Between mass electrification, new technologies mandated by legislators, and shortages of components and raw materials, brands had to review copies of many of their models even when they were ready for presentation and sales. And even today, these new standards continue to delay many launches.

This is also highlighted by a study by PwC Consulting. This report shows that In 2023, 34% of launched cars experienced production delays. Another 21% experienced delays “due to other factors” (delivery, routing, etc.), accounting for more than half of the new cars expected to go on sale this year. PWC calculated production delays (labor constraints, compliance with quality standards, and supply chain issues) by comparing the actual production start date with the planned start date.

According to the given figures, delays can cost the automaker about $200 million a year. This could result in a loss of 30 to 50 billion dollars for the entire sector. By comparison, in 2018, only 5% of launches had production delays. Despite the increase in post-pandemic delays, automakers also successfully completed 45% of launches in 2023, a record since 2019. In 2022, this figure dropped to 30%.

Which producers suffered the most?

The study doesn’t highlight specific makes and models, but by keeping a close eye on automotive news, it’s pretty easy to see which manufacturers are struggling.

Apparently there is a Volkswagen group that is suffering from serious software issues. As a result, the release of the Audi Q6 and Porsche Macan was delayed until 2024. These two models are based on a new platform, PPE, a platform that changes due to various issues through certain vendors.

We can also mention Tesla and the very late launch of its Cybertruck, but this delay is not necessarily solely due to the problems mentioned above. Problems with the design of the car itself also gave the American firm a lot of problems.

Let’s not forget that even outside of the production aspect, other factors come into play, starting with the origin of the car. Along with geopolitical issues and shipping bottlenecks, shipping cars made on the other side of the world has also increased delivery times.

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