Supply issues cause delays for customers waiting for adapted vehicles

The golbal car market faces challenges which are leading to supply issues, delivery delays and a shortage of many new makes and models, which is strongly affecting Motability Scheme customers’ orders and their ability to carry out everyday tasks outside of the household.

Whether end users are looking to order their first car on the scheme, choose their next car or are currently awaiting delivery, Motability has compiled the answers to some of the more common questions arising at this time.

Why are vehicle orders being delayed?

The main issue affecting new car supply is a global shortage of semiconductors, or ‘chips’, which feature in most electrical items from washing machines and home computers, to TVs and new cars.

Each new car features around 1,500 of these chips, which act as the ‘brain’ of the vehicle, but high demand for electrical items during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a shortage of semiconductors. This shortage is expected to continue well in to 2023.

On top of this, factories across the world are continuing to be affected by staff shortages due to COVID-19 isolation requirements and wider supply chain problems caused by the pandemic.

The supply chain issues can often mean that vehicles in production are unable to be completed due to delayed parts, leading to further delays and changing delivery dates. In many cases, cars are taking more than six months to be delivered.

How is this affecting the Motability Scheme?

Although the scheme is working hard to remain as affordable as possible, you may notice that there are fewer cars available than in previous years and in many cases, advance payments are higher than end users may be used to.

Also, Vehicles are being removed from the scheme at short notice at the request of manufacturers and dealers are often struggling to get reliable information on delivery dates due to the various factors affecting new car supply.

For more information on how supply issues in the new car market are impacting the scheme, Motability has created an informative video.

For those with specific questions about the delivery timescales of a particular order are considering ordering, the end users dealer will always be best placed to advise you on this.