Anyone who wants to order a new car from Volkswagen online will see a warning message after just a few steps in the digital configurator: “Due to global delivery bottlenecks, production times for some of our model variants may be significantly longer.” Regardless of whether it’s a VW Polo or VW Passat, a punctual delivery of the new car is not in sight. Buyers of electric cars have to be patient for a particularly long time. The delivery times in the industry are currently six to eighteen months, according to a calculation by the placement portal Carwow. There is even an order freeze for particularly popular models, including the Renault Zoe and the Kia e-Niro. And those who want to fall back on young used cars instead of a new car will also be in for a surprise.
For months, the supply in the yards of used car dealers has been scarce, and prices are skyrocketing. An analysis by the market observer Deutsche Automobil Treuhand (DAT) now shows the full extent. According to this, customers had to pay 30.1 percent more for a typical three-year-old petrol engine in April than for comparable vehicles a year earlier. On average, 27,900 euros were due. Diesel increased in price by 31.8 percent to 28,960 euros. At least the DAT now sees prices stabilizing, albeit at a high level. “At least they’re not increasing any further,” says the specialist in motor vehicle data. Whether it stays that way is not certain.