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There is an ongoing computer chip shortage which has limited supply of new vehicles in the U.S. since 2021. According to a Forbes article from April 30, 2022 “For dealerships, higher margins per vehicle have more than made up for the drop in new-vehicle volume due to the computer chip shortage, said Earl Hesterberg, president and CEO of Houston-based Group 1 Automotive, one of the nation’s biggest new-vehicle retail chains.”
“Demand is extremely strong,” he said, in a conference call on April 27 to announce first-quarter earnings. “We sell most units almost immediately after manufacturer delivery.”
Cars are actually sold not just immediately after, the sale is brokered months before the vehicle arrives because of the high demand and limited supply. People routinely pay thousands of dollars above sticker price, and that is why 2022 is shaping up to be the most profitable year ever for dealerships.
According to a Forbes wheels article from Feb 28, 2022 “What’s changed since then, of course, is the Covid-19 pandemic followed by the shortage of semiconductors (chips). Through December 2021, the chip shortage cost North American auto factories more than 2.3 million units of production, according to AutoForecast Solutions. Some analysts say the chip shortage will ease later this year. Others say it will stretch into 2023.” Dec, 2021 was the…
