HALIFAX — Maritimers in the market for a new vehicle these days will have to be patient.
Industry experts confirm there are fewer new vehicles on sales lots to choose from.
Just ask John MacKay, who has been car shopping for the past few months.
“I’m turning 65 in August and I want to buy a special car, so we’ve been looking at some higher end ones, and not finding too many,” he says.
“We’re at historic low inventory levels,” says Huw Williams, a spokesperson for the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association.
Williams says manufacturers hit by COVID-19 shutdowns, semiconductor shortages and supply chain issues, are still in recovery mode.
And he says more recent challenges haven’t helped either.
“Certainly over the last several weeks, with the problems at the Windsor border (due to protests), those sorts of problems have already added to what was a large global problem,” says Williams.
Rick Roberts, general manager of Porsche of Halifax, has been selling vehicles for almost 40 years, and believes the pandemic created a shift in the auto industry that had already been seen in retail.
He says manufacturing is picking up, but getting vehicles in is still a challenge due to transportation and shipping delays.
Roberts adds dealers are now carrying fewer cars to spare the expense of having hundreds sitting on the lot, which costs them interest.
The adjustments automotive companies made during the pandemic have made that approach easier.
“Being able to order vehicles online, to pre-order, to pre-build, it will cut down the costs of carrying [those vehicles on the lot]," said Roberts.
Amidst a growing interest in electric vehicles, supply has yet to catch up with that demand as well.
“We won’t see the massive quantities of vehicles and inventory size that you’re used to for gas vehicles for several years from now,” says Erica Huntley, general sales manager at All EV Canada.
That’s why the dealership is trying to fill the gaps with pre-owned EVs.
“To ensure there’s inventory on the ground for customers to be able to try and experience the electric lifestyle,” adds Huntley.
Williams says dealers have been working diligently to communicate with customers and ensure they can get what they need.
“It’s just not the old model where you can come in and choose from literally hundreds of vehicles until you got the one you wanted, or have one on short order,” he says. “It takes more creativity on the dealer side, but they are moving vehicles on a regular basis, it’s just a different model.”
His advice for buyers looking for a new automobile?
Start planning early, and be patient.
