Land Rover buyers forced to wait ‘up to two years’ for new cars
Land Rover customers had to wait ‘up to two years’ for their new cars as dealers reveal how long buyers will have to wait with major brands
- About 21 dealers of all mainstream brands were contacted about delivery times
- Delivery times of up to 24 months for Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover Sport
- Have you quoted a long lead time? Email rob.hull@thisismoney.co.uk
Land Rover buyers are being told to wait up to two years before ordering new cars, according to dealers who stock their vehicles.
Orders for Range Rover Sport and Land Rover Discovery models will not arrive until 2025 due to the 24-month lead time for these models, the recent market study said.
These are the largest delays of any car manufacturer, with the second longest wait at 12 months for some Audis, Maseratis and models from Jaguar, Land Rover’s sister brand.
Do you want to know how long you have to wait for a new car? According to a new report, lead times for deliveries are between 3.5 months and two years
The research was conducted by car subscription firm Wagonex, which contacted 21 car dealers associated with mainstream brands between March 28 and March 29.
It turned out that the average waiting time for a new car ordered at the end of last month was eight months.
The shortest lead times were cited by Citroën dealers, with salespeople telling customers to wait up to three and a half months, according to the report.
The dealer feedback was slightly different from the delivery times automakers gave This is Money earlier in March, when we contacted all 34 major car brands about how long buyers might have to wait to get their hands on a set of keys.
Land Rover stated wait times of up to 12 months, while Citroen said it could take customers as little as two months to get their hands on a C3 Aircross crossover.
Land Rover dealers said order lead times for some new vehicles could be up to 24 months
The Range Rover Sport (left) and Land Rover Discovery (right) were the two models with the longest waiting times for delivery
With the new ’23’ license plate arriving last month, official car sales data shows an 18 percent increase in car sales in March, with nearly 290,000 new vehicles on the road.
But Wagonex says demand has been dampened by longer wait times, which have continued due to a shortage of auto parts and ongoing supply chain issues that have arisen since the pandemic.
According to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturer and Trader, the most popular car models for March were Tesla Model Y, Nissan Juke and Nissan Qashqai.
Nissan dealers told Wagonex that the current wait time for a Qashqai is five months, while the Juke is a month longer. That’s despite both being built in the UK at the Sunderland factory.
Some manufacturers offer shorter lead times of up to 3.5 months, including MG, Citroën and Suzuki.
Wagonex’s own subscription request data has the Audi e-tron, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class as the most requested models.
According to UK dealers contacted, the current waiting time is 12 months for the e-tron, 12 weeks for the 3 Series and customers wanting a new C-Class can wait up to nine months before driving their new vehicle.
Toby Kernon, founder of Wagonex said: ‘Waiting two years for your next car is practically unheard of, so there’s no doubt thousands of drivers are frustrated.
“Those who decide to wait eight months – the average waiting time according to our research – will have to consider low-commitment alternative options, such as a car subscription, in the meantime.”