As the chip crisis continues, dealerships are facing the problem of dismal inventory. With very little selection and the inability to restock as quickly, dealerships are met with an overly frustrated client base.
Customers are becoming increasingly frustrated as well as impatient due to the fear produced by little inventory. If a customer doesn’t claim a vehicle, it could be taken from them with no alternative. Consequently, across the nation, there have been tense incidences of customers fighting for the same product.
For instance, an altercation between two customers took place at a South Carolina dealership over an SUV! After one potential buyer saw another looking at the desired SUV, the buyer began to yell. He insisted, the potential buyer, that the other individual had no right to even look at the vehicle since he was set on purchasing it.
Unfortunately, occurrences like these will no doubt continue with little production. Assembly plants report either financial or physical setbacks. While General Motors in only using four of their 14 North America assembly plants, Toyota Motor Corp. is experiencing a costly cutback equivalent to about 360,000 vehicles of global output.
The root of these problems stem from the chip crisis. At first, several automakers and analysts were hopeful the crisis would solve itself out and normalize by the end of 2021. However, with evidence of coronavirus cases increasing, that prediction has been dismissed.
Over the past year or so, the automotive industry has dealt with its fair share of economic setbacks. The chip crisis is not only one of those setbacks, but an increasingly prevalent one. As to how the automotive industry handles as well as survives this crisis… only time will tell.
