Several potential buyers of vehicles in the Sultanate of Oman are forced to change their purchase plans due to a shortage of new cars in the market, which is yet to recover from the shutdowns of chip-producing units during the pandemic.
The industry sources told the Observer that the waiting period for new models is getting longer due to inventory shortages.
Upcoming Ramadhan is also the period when dealers offer promotions to clear the old inventory or attractive discounts on new vehicles.
Sreekesh N was forced to buy a high-end used SUV as the waiting period for the new model was slightly getting longer.
"The dealer gave no guarantee about the availability of the latest model of my choice. Finally, I preferred to buy a 2022 model and make some compromises on the expected features."
As of late 2022 and early 2023, very few brands had the latest models in the market and customers were willing to wait for the new in the interim rather than go for the older versions.
According to statistia.com, an estimated 11.3 million units of vehicles were cut from production worldwide in 2021 due to the global semiconductor shortage, which though slowly increasing, will impact car production for some time.
The report said around seven million cars were removed from production in 2022, and around 1.3 million cars were out of production in 2023.
"Initial disruption in the chip supply was due to China and Taiwan saw factories were forced to shut down when the pandemic first hit. While the industry recovered new surges in demand such as those brought about by changing consumer habits led to demand for chips and vehicles, which will continue until 2022."
The shortage in the availability of new vehicles led to the demand for used vehicles, especially the 2020-22 models as they are as good as new ones, market sources said.
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