The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people across Canada buy vehicles.
According to a study conducted by AutoTrader, people are doing their best to adapt to a market in which it is more difficult to find either a new, or a used vehicle.
The study says 42 percent of people were willing to travel further with 31 percent willing to go more than 400 miles to find the right vehicle.
“The research shows that Canadian car shopping has not been deterred,” said AutoTrader editor-in-chief Jodi Lai. “A lot of people were willing to change how they bought cars because of the manufacturing shortage.”
A key reason for the move is the global microchip shortage. Manufacturers, who are mostly shipped from China, can only manufacture vehicles at the rate they receive microchips. However, COVID-19 restrictions in China have caused delays.
Michael Wyant, chief operating officer of Wyant Group, said this is a problem for manufacturers around the world.
“Manufacturers of original equipment have struggled to find the supplies needed to build enough in North America, Europe and around the world. They have such a high capacity that the spare parts shortage will allow, ”Wyant explained.
“We expect the first part of 2022 in terms of inventory … to be pretty bare.”
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On the other hand, Lai said experts are optimistic that production will return to normal in 2022.
“A lot of manufacturing will return to full production, that’s what we hear,” Lai discussed. “This means that price fluctuations should level off this year.”
Wyant added if you are trying to sell a used vehicle, this is a good time to do so.
“In terms of vehicles in possession, there is a shortage of new vehicles, (and this has) increased the value of vehicles in possession across the market. The value of your used vehicle has never been higher. “The value of exchanging a vehicle is close to the price of a brand new vehicle,” said Wyant.
The AutoTrader survey also found some other changes in attitudes. In general, people in Canada look more favorably at electric vehicles, although that trend is not as strong in Saskatchewan.
“Sales in BC and Ontario are ahead and a more popular choice in those provinces,” Wyant said.
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And because many people did not spend as much during the pandemic, they may have saved a little more money to put in a vehicle, Lai said.
The full study can be read here.
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Reference-globalnews.ca