Where have all the cars gone?

You’ve no doubt read or heard about the current car shortage and if you’ve been trying to obtain a car, you’ll have experienced not just the shortage but also the price increases – especially when buying a car outright or putting it on an HP agreement. These price hikes are highlighted when it comes to trying to buy a second-hand vehicle where demand is high too. All in all, many people are reverting to driving a private car rather then using public transport.

Why the shortage? There are a number of obvious reasons and also some which are less transparent. During the pandemic, many of the world’s car manufacturing plants closed because of lockdown and also lack of demand for cars. The ability to build new cars was therefore severely impacted.

As we move to the future, we’re going to be driving electric cars which resemble large computers however even now, the vast majority of cars require semi-conductor chips. These chips are crucial for infotainment, Sat-nav, digital dashboards and a lot of other in-car electrics. There’s a huge global shortage of these chips and this isn’t just down to the global pandemic as to why chip manufacturing is affected. The actual supply chain has been hugely affected due to lack of availability. During lockdowns, more people were working from home using computers and laptops and also spending time on the all too familiar Zoom calls and the like! This then resulted in a demand in chips for new laptops/ computers and also tablets, smartphones and computer games.

A bit of a perfect storm… Yes, all car prices and availability are being affected by these shortages however you can still obtain a new car at a fair price.

Here at Newgate, we’re acutely aware of the shortages and why for some, it can mean getting a new vehicle is more frustrating. Newgate’s owner Nigel Williams has spent many years in the automotive industry supplying cars to Clergy and Teachers so has experience of the highs and lows when cars are in short supply. He says, “we simply have to alter the way we operate in these times of high demand”. Newgate continues to negotiate great deals for Clergy customers and also Teachers and this is what we were founded on.  To combat the car shortage, we are doing what we call batch deals.  These deals involve obtaining a specific batch of cars at an extra special price. The numbers in the batch can vary and you may have noticed on our website www.www.newgatefinance.com messages on some of the cars saying ‘only 5 left’, ‘only 19 left’ or ‘last one’ so to coin the phrase – When they’re gone, they’re gone! 

Newgate’s Advice We’d advise current Newgate customers or potential Newgate customers to plan your new car well in advance. Even planning to change your car 5-6 months earlier than normal is a good idea. If you see a car that you like at a price you like on our website, you might want to go for it sooner even if it means ending your existing agreement or lease early in order to take delivery of your new leased car. This applies to all petrol, hybrid and electric cars. Call Nigel to have a chat.

If there is a particular car that you’re interested in which isn’t on our website, Nigel will be able to source this for you, but the lead times can be several months so again, please plan ahead.

Nigel would be very pleased to talk you through various options so call our Freephone number or request a call back www.www.newgatefinance.com/get-a-callback/.

In the meantime, take a look at our website or this link may also help www.www.newgatefinance.com/answers-to-common-questions/

Newgate Motoring Solutions – we’re always here to help!

July, 2021

Sign up for our newsletter

Signup for our regular newsletter, or to hear about special offers.

Sign up now!