Carmakers are facing supply chain issues due to the resurgence of the health crisis as new restrictions are imposed across many states in India
The return of the health crisis in a more vigorous state has put the Indian economy in limbo with increased fatalities and every industry is getting affected big time. The spread has been so wide that every state in India has imposed restrictions and the automotive industry, which was on a path to recovery, has taken a downward curve once again.
The adoption of fresh restrictions across different parts of the country meant that the closure of dealerships has become inevitable. The travel restrictions have caused logistical hurdles and resultantly manufacturing schedules have been put into disarray and the production churn out is also facing major issues for almost every carmaker.
The automakers are hoping to ramp up the production around July as new shifts could be started to meet the requirements of the customers who are in line waiting for their cars to get delivered. The waiting period is certainly soaring for almost all cars. Kia recently launched the 2021 Sonet and Seltos with the brand’s new corporate logo and a host of feature updates.
The waiting period of them stands as long as 20 weeks on most of the variants of both the updated SUVs. The turbo petrol iMT and DCT variants of the 2021 Kia Sonet command up to 13 weeks of waiting while at least 16-17 weeks for the Seltos 1.5-litre petrol MT HTK+ and up to 20 weeks for other variants of the mid-size SUV are reported.
The supply chain-related issues are only expected to be amended in the coming months or otherwise when the second wave retreats and the restrictions are lifted to resume business. Mahindra’s second-generation Thar has a waiting period of up to one year for select variants while the waiting period for the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga goes up to nine months.
In a similar fashion, the Nissan Magnite as well as the Hyundai Creta has a waiting period of up to nine months. The MG Hector and Hector Plus’ waiting stands up to six months and popular models in the compact SUV space see waiting period of up to five or six months.