March 2022 New Car Wait Times: Part 1

Following the launch of our new car delivery date estimator, you can now stay informed regarding all the delays and wait times affecting the Australian new car market. 

Whether you are in the market for a specific model, or keeping your options open, our handy tool will provide you with a comprehensive snapshot of wait times by brand, model, state, and even vehicle body type.

In addition, we are delighted to bring to you this monthly piece that wraps up all the latest movements across the market, helping you improve your new car buying experience by responding to the latest developments. After all, not everyone has the patience to wait more than 200 days for a new car!

On that note, here are the key developments from March.

New car market wait time

Last month saw the average wait time for a new car across the nation decrease by one day, the first time there has been a decline since November, 2020. 

Whereas the average wait time was sitting at a record high of 124 days in February, this fell to 123 days in March, which it must be said, represents the second-highest figure on record we’ve seen across the PriceMyCar platform.

Compared with a year ago, when the average wait time was 70 days and seemed excessive in the midst of that moment - new car buyers are now waiting almost two more months on average to receive delivery of their new purchase.

Amid ongoing supply chain disruption caused by the war in Ukraine, as well as the ongoing global semiconductor shortage, it is too early to say at this stage whether the result indicates a peak has been reached in terms of new car wait times. 

There are, however, a number of new brands making their debut in Australia at this time and over the coming months, and while their stock may also be booked out in advance, it does represent a broader choice of options in the market.

Makes and models with the longest wait times

Isuzu remains the brand with the longest wait time across the Australian new car market, with March seeing a further increase. On average, you will now be looking at an average delivery delay of approximately 213 days for a Kia vehicle, which is 12 days higher than what we saw in February, and more than 4 months on the wait times from this time last year.

In the case of Kia, it is a familiar story as the brand sees sky-high demand for its vehicles combined with supply constraints to further drive wait times higher. Some of the brand’s most-popular models are now tracking wait times greater than 200 days, which means you don’t have long if you want to take stock of a Kia vehicle by the end of 2022.

Peugeot and Land Rover both made the list of the brands with the longest average wait time, albeit both are based on limited data, and with no recent update. However, both of these premium brands haven’t escaped the complexities of supply chain issues, which has been compounded by the fact that they are low-volume sellers in the Australian market.

Toyota also continues to battle lengthy wait times, which follows a move by the leading Japanese auto-maker to further cut production at one of its factories in March, while domestic production is also expected to be pared back by up to 20% during April, May and June.

The Kia Sorento leads the Toyota RAV4 at the top of the list of models with the longest average wait time, and neither could be likely to see any major respite soon given the impact on production caused by the chip crunch overseas. Both have been plagued by delays to their hybrid variants, although even the traditional petrol-powered iterations are hard to come by.

As a further sign of Kia’s troubles, and what sees it entrenched as the brand with the second-longest wait time on average, the Stinger catapulted into the list. It comes at a time where the future of the high-powered sedan is still being debated in motoring circles, so we hope this isn’t the final encore for one of the most underrated vehicles on the market.

Elsewhere, two of Volkswagen’s vehicles have moved higher on the back of fresh production delays for the German auto-maker. They replace the Kia Carnival and Nissan Patrol, where stock availability has improved fractionally, but where wait times are still hovering around 200 days.

Peugeot again headlines the brands with the largest percentage increase in delays coming through, which will hurt the brand significantly given its low-key presence down under, and the number of competitors it is already trying to fight off. Elsewhere, new car delays increased by 11% for Mini, and 10% for each of BMW, Lexus and Haval.

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