One Million Hyundai, Kia Vehicles Now on Backorder
Here’s a shocking number that illustrates the impact of the global chip shortage and other supply chain issues on the auto industry: 1,000,000. It’s the combined backlog of vehicles at Hyundai and Kia right now according to a report by The Korea Times.
Of course, one can point to a few other reasons, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and recent plant closures in China following another COVID-19 outbreak.
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The backorders represent approximately 15 percent of the 6.66 million vehicles sold globally by the Korean duo in 2021 and 13 percent of its initial sales target for 2022.
In the last month, Kia’s domestic factories only reached 82 percent capacity due to a lack of chips but also wiring harnesses. If you add other Kia plants in the U.S., Mexico, Slovakia and India, that makes 40,000 vehicles waiting to be built.
Delivery times can be as long as 18 months, the report says. Some of the most affected models include Hyundai IONIQ 5, Kia Sorento Hybrid, Sportage Hybrid and EV6, as well as the Genesis GV70 and GV60. The majority are electrified vehicles, which have experienced much stronger demand of late with gas prices significantly on the rise.
The global chip shortage is expected to last through 2022 and certainly part of 2023, analysts now predict.
As for new vehicle sales, they were down 16.6 percent year-to-year in the U.S. and 12.3 percent in Canada during the first quarter of 2022. There was also a slight drop from the final quarter of 2021.
