Is there a shortage of new cars?

[Big Boy]

I had to go into Ford today. They had just 1 car in the showroom. This is a place I'm quite familiar with, and there has always been 5 or 6 shiny new motors to look at. There were plenty of staff willing to sell that motor. Just loads of tables and chairs where the cars should have been.

[buksida]

There were plenty of red plates on the roads over Songkran.

[Big Boy]

Very true. I have to go back this afternoon, I'll try to find out what is going on. Problem is, their command of English is as good as my Thai.

[Dannie Boy]

Globally there’s a significant shortage of cars being manufactured due to the semiconductor shortage, so sooner or later it will affect Thailand too (sooner by the sound of it)!!


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[Big Boy]

Very true. I have to go back this afternoon, I'll try to find out what is going on.

This afternoon cancelled - will be next week sometime.

[PeteC]

Ford is transitioning factories in Rayong. Old and medium size to new and huge. That could have something to do with it, as well as computer chips.

https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedi ... iland.html

[NOKYAI]

I went to buy the new PCX 160 hybrid scooter yesterday and was told to leave my name and they would contact me in the next 2 months. I'm not hopeful as it was just on a scrap of papar....So it's not just cars!

[Big Boy]

Today reminded me of when I was looking to buy new 10 years ago:

1. We went to Isuzu - they could show me the outside of a customer's vehicle.
2. We went to Nissan - nothing to show me.
3. We went to Mazda - they could show me the outside of a customer's vehicle.
4. We went to Ford - they let me sit in a customer's vehicle.
5. We went to Toyota - they showed me a photo.
6. We went to Chevrolet - they had vehicles, but the safety features were years out of date.

A test drive was totally out of the question.

So 6 garages, only 1 vehicle on display, and totally unsuitable. Things did get better, but I'm wondering if they've gone backwards again.

[huahin4ever]

I went to buy the new PCX 160 hybrid scooter yesterday and was told to leave my name and they would contact me in the next 2 months. I'm not hopeful as it was just on a scrap of papar....So it's not just cars!

I have the 150 pcx hybrid and if the 160 is similar I would not buy it. I was hoping for some milage with usage only in electric mode, but the engine is running all the time. And not much extra power from the battery Only less storage space under the seat

YNWA

[pharvey]

In Europe and the UK, it's certainly down to supply of Chips/Semiconductors and to a lesser extent internationally fabricated/machined mechanical parts - I guess you also need to look at the rising popularity of EV's.

Certainly in the UK, the Secondhand Market has grown considerably both in demand and price - as always, the "Used Car Dealerships" are milking it, some reports even saying a 12-18 month used model is going for more than its new counterpart purely due to demand and availability issues.

It seems issues regarding the supply of Semiconductors are not going to improve for another year or so, so new car production is going to be well down. Toyota and others have already stated big reductions, so surely this will have a major effect on the Thai market?

I'm sure there'll also be a hit coming due to the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.....

[pharvey]

As an [EDIT] to the above: -

https://www.ft.com/content/9aabb19d-5d2 ... fb94a5730c

[Dannie Boy]

As an [EDIT] to the above: -

https://www.ft.com/content/9aabb19d-5d2 ... fb94a5730c

Unfortunately you can only read the article if you have membership to the FT?

[Dannie Boy]

Here’s an article about semiconductor shortages affecting numerous car manufacturers

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/busi ... hip-crisis

[pharvey]

Unfortunately you can only read the article if you have membership to the FT?

Don't have one myself, but did notice there was a "4 Week Free Trial" I was given.... Anywho, here's the article: -

"New car sales in the UK fell to their lowest level in two decades last month as the global shortage of semiconductors hampered factory output.

March registrations fell to 243,479, which was 14 per cent down on a year earlier and their lowest level since 1998, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The month normally accounts for one in five vehicles sold in Britain.

The trade group branded the sales “massively disappointing” for the industry, which has been hit by supply chain woes since the pandemic began, including the global shortage of chips and more recent problems in sourcing some parts from Ukraine.

Chip shortages have forced carmakers around the world to cut production output and left consumers waiting up to a year for new models.

The global semiconductor shortage, which is not expected to ease until next year, has also warped the second-hand market, driving used car prices above new models for the first time in memory.

Auto Trader, which runs the UK’s largest online marketplace, estimates that one in five used cars that are under a year old are being sold for more than their new counterparts.

March is typically the UK’s busiest month of the year for car sales because it is one of the two months when new registration plates are issued.

SMMT boss Mike Hawes said: “While demand remains robust, this decline illustrates the severity of the global semiconductor shortage, as manufacturers strive to deliver the latest, lowest emission vehicles to eagerly awaiting customers.”

There are warnings that demand, which has remained strong coming out of pandemic lockdowns, will waver as cost of living increases bite.

Richard Peberdy, head of automotive at KPMG UK, said the “rising cost of living poses significant questions about whether consumers will delay, or even curtail, larger investments, such as on a car”.

Despite the overall drop in sales, the popularity of electric cars continued to rise in March with 39,315 battery cars sold. This was 16 per cent of all new model sales and more than during the whole of 2019, the last year before new European CO2 targets forced most manufacturers to embrace the technology for the first time.

Carmakers have said they are focused on diverting the chips they can secure into electric models in order to meet the new CO2 emission rules in Europe as well as the UK and China.

“At the current rate, sales of new EVs will overtake both traditional petrol and diesel sales by 2025,” said Ian Plummer, commercial director at Auto Trader.

“If anything, the demand for EVs is now even stronger as prices at the pumps rise on the back of the Ukraine crisis,” he added."


And yes DB, the link you posted certainly goes to the same issue. I do think ongoing issues with supply, sanctions on Russia, global financial issues will compound the problem. You could say it's simply a problem for car manufacturers/suppliers, but realistically the knock-on effect could be horrendous.

[REEM]

I went in to Honda yesterday to inquire about the new HRV, 5 month wait they told me.
Then I drove up the road to Toyota to ask about the Corolla Cross, the salesman laughed out loud as if I had told him the funniest joke ever. Impossible he said, no microchips, maybe 6 months.

I find all this hard to believe given that there are dozens of both models to be seen on the roads, but they all have Bangkok registration plates and I suspect that Bangkok has first call on these new cars, whilst the new pick up trucks get sent out to the provinces.