Seven month wait for some utes, wagons

A global shortage of computer chips used in vehicle safety and engine systems and the pandemic's impact on supply chains continue to delay production of utes and wagons.

The latest data from PriceMyCar shows that from a list of the best-selling 4WD and 2WD load luggers, the model with the longest wait time is the Nissan Patrol Y62 at 228 days.

It is followed by the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series at 197 days and the Isuzu MUX at 173 days.

Buyers in the market for a Toyota Fortuna face a wait of 157 days, while its platform-sharing twin the HiLux comes with a wait time of 155 days.

PriceMyCar founder and CEO David Lye said Australian new car delays hit an all-time high in December, with the average wait time across all makes and models nationally standing at 128 days, but things could be improving.

"There are suggestions this may have peaked, with a slight improvement in January partly driven by better availability in big volume brands including Toyota and Mazda," Mr Lye said.

More news

Volkswagen's Amarok, which is being phased out for a new model, will keep buyers waiting 151 days and the Isuzu D-Max stretches to 137 days.

Volume seller Mitsubishi Triton has a wait time of 105 days, Ford Everest sits at 99 days, Mazda BT-50 is 88 days and Nissan Navara will take 77 days.

Meanwhile, one of the shortest wait times in the category is 71 days for the Ford Ranger.

There wasn't enough data available for the Toyota Prado or 70 Series.

Despite the bottleneck, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said demand for new cars in Australia remained strong.

While the January 2022 market of 75,863 new vehicle sales is a decrease of 3,803 sales against January 2021, the light commercial market was up by 774 vehicle sales versus January 2021.

Want daily news highlights delivered to your inbox? Sign up to the Queensland Country Life newsletter below.