Struggling to meet demand
Dealerships in P.E.I. facing waits of several months for some new vehicles to arrive
Car sales are at an all-time high in P.E.I. with some manufacturers struggling to keep up with the demand.
“It’s not so much that they are hard to get in, it’s that the volume (of sales) is just unprecedented,’’ said Alan Brennan, a sales associate at Charlottetown Toyota.
“We constantly have cars arriving. There are more Corollas being sold than ever before. It’s at an all-time high. We have people moving here from all over the world and there are no cars. Listen, for three years running, seldom did we have a car on the lot we’ve never sold.’’
The availability of cars is a challenge across Canada.
Brennan said the reason people see empty lots at times is that cars are selling as quickly as dealerships can get them in.
“We still make Corollas, we still make Camrys, and people still buy them every day.’’
Mark MacPhail, a sales associate at Summerside Toyota, added pre-orders that had a waiting list of six to eight months just after the COVID-19 pandemic are now arriving in two months once they are ordered.
The manufacturers are catching up, but it is slow.
“We have a lot of used vehicles (on the lot), which is good,’’ MacPhail said. “It’s still not perfect, but anyone who orders a car from Toyota Canada, it means you are guaranteed to get a quality car. The problem (at the manufacturers level) is that there are still some shortages of parts and availability.’’
He said all of Toyota Canada’s cars are made in Cambridge, Ont., so the cars are not being shipped in from foreign manufacturers.
“They have a higher resale value and better maintenance packages. People want to wait for a vehicle they want that would give them the best value on the market and one of the best safety packages in the industry.’’
Chris Murray, a sales associate at Experience Hyundai in Charlottetown, said their lot is full, but they are having a hard time keeping up with the demand for Elantras and Tucsons, the most popular compact car-SUV brand on the market.
“Things are good here,’’ Murray said. “We’re still having trouble getting Elantras and Tucsons and Venues. They are coming, but you’re looking at (possibly) a threeor four-month wait to get one. Say you did a deal today for a new (car), it would probably be in by May.’’
There are some used Elantras, Tucsons and Venues on the Experience Hyundai lot.
“We’re trying real hard to keep up with demand,’’ Murray said.
Sanreen Zaki, a sales associate at Subaru of Charlottetown, said all is good at the dealership.
“We have lots of vehicles in stock,’’ Zaki said. “We have 30 or 40 vehicles on our lot right now in terms of new.’’
Mickey MacDonald, a sales associate at the KIA dealership in Charlottetown, said business has really picked up these last few weeks.
“We actually have a lot of vehicles on the lot, a lot of selection,’’ MacDonald said. “We have Sorentos, Fortes and two Niro (electric vehicles) … and quite a bit on the way.’’
Chrysler does not make the family compact car anymore so the price tag at Centennial Chrysler (formerly Kings County Chrysler up until Jan. 2) starts at $38,000.
“We don’t have much in the new car (lot), but we do have a lot of SUVs that people want today for the simple fact that Chrysler doesn’t make a small car anymore,’’ said David Morrison, a car sales associate at Centennial Chrysler. “They’re not in the market anymore. Basically, we sell trucks, we sell Jeeps, Jeep Compasses, Cherokees and the (Jeep) Wrangler. We have the Compass for someone who is looking for a small compact vehicle. It’s a four-wheel drive. It’s a small SUV.’’
Morrison said the dealership is not turning away disappointed customers, adding that people have not been looking for a family compact car since 2016.
“We concentrate in the trucks,’’ he said. “There are so many players in the small car market at the KIAs and Hyundais and Hondas.’’