Car dealerships are not an exception to the businesses deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic effects of the pandemic are still hitting them today.
For one, there’s a shortage in car inventory — both new and used vehicles.
“We do our buying almost on the daily. We’re always looking for inventory,” Chasiti Wanner, dealer principal at Torgerson Auto Center, told KX News in North Dakota. “Basically, nationwide we’re searching. We do it every day. And then as people come in -- I mean, we do our best to accommodate, to have what they need. But there’s just certain vehicles, makes, models that just aren’t available.”
Dealerships are seeing an increase in prices for used cars as the focus shifts to almost-new used cars, KX News reported.
Shawn Weekes, a new-car sales manager at Kramer Chevrolet, told KX News, “We have a lot of folks that are coming in. They’re prepaying or putting deposits on vehicles that aren’t even here yet. So I’ll say probably close to 85% of the units that we have coming in are already presold to customers.”
The lack of supply in semiconductors has affected car manufacturers. While some continue to manufacture, keeping up with the demand is a challenge, and some have ceased their production altogether.
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