So it would seem it’s particularly bad news for anyone who’s ordered a new right hand drive mk8 Golf GTI with DSG transmission and Harmon Kardon upgraded sound system - they could be in for a long wait for their new car. It won’t just be the three VW models listed above that are affected though as semiconductors will be used in all cars, so anyone on this forum who’s ordered - or are considering ordering - a new Polo should be aware of the current situation.
The worldwide shortage of semiconductors (computer chips) is having a significant impact on many industries just now and from what I’ve read in the media, this is likely to continue for some months. Many car makers are moving to reduced working hours and / or temporarily closing production lines, resulting in a shortage of new cars and longer lead times (historically, VW already have long lead times for factory building orders!).
That’s good news if you’re thinking of selling your car - currently, because of market conditions, demand for many popular used models has increased because some prospective buyers aren’t prepared to accept the longer than usual lead times for a new car build, so they may consider buying nearly new instead. This increased demand for good used cars and shortage of supply of new cars means that unusually, used car values of many popular models are increasing (at least in the UK). I’ve seen people on forums saying that they’ve been offered more for their cars by dealers and car buying services (e.g. Motorway, Wizzle, WBAC) than they paid for them. For anyone who does sell, they’re then faced with the dilemma of what to do for a replacement car;
- buy another similar used car which is likely to have an inflated sale price due to current market conditions.
- wait for a new car to be built and accept they may be car-less for a few months, unless they have a second vehicle they can use in the meantime.
- if lucky they might find a new in-stock car at a dealers. If they can, then IMO the chances of the dealer willing to discount the price is much less likely in the current market.