Hyundai Australia outlines chronic delays of up to 11 months

EXCLUSIVE

New-car buyers waiting for a new Hyundai will need to develop patience amid chronic production delays caused by a global shortage of semiconductors.

A confidential bulletin sent to dealers has outlined the delays model by model and includes most of the brand’s range.

Dealers are now faced with having to inform frustrated customers who have already been waiting for months to take delivery of their new car. In some cases buyers won't take delivery until next year.

For example, the previous waiting time for the popular Hyundai i30 hatch was two to four months but that has been pushed back to four to five months.

The all-new Hyundai i30 sedan’s waiting time has been pushed back from two months to eight to nine months.

Most variants of the Hyundai Kona and new Tucson SUVs were listed as having a three to four month delay but the new wait time is estimated to be four to five months.

The longest wait time for any Hyundai is for the new Tucson 2.0 N-Line, which is now listed as arriving 10 to 11 months from now.

The Hyundai Santa Fe seven-seat family SUV has shifted from a four to five month wait and is now listed as having a six to seven month wait, pushing deliveries into next year. 

The Hyundai Palisade large SUV has moved from three to four months and is now estimated to arrive in four to five months.

The all-new Hyundai Staria van and Staria people mover originally had a three to four month delay but are now showing a delivery estimate of five to six months.

The Hyundai Ioniq electric car has been pushed from two to three months and is now listed as arriving in four to five months.

A number of dealers, speaking to CarAdvice of condition of anonymity, expressed their frustration about the delays.

“We know there is nothing Hyundai can do about it, but we now have customers walking away and rightly asking for their money back,” said one Hyundai dealer. 

“Few people have the patience to wait that long for a new car. It’ll be an old model by then,” joked another. “I've never seen anything like this, it's ridiculous.”

For its part, the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) has pleaded with customers to be patient.

The head of the AADA, James Voortman, has previously told Drive: “We understand buyers are frustrated, but this is a global semiconductor shortage. Our advice is to get in the queue and stay in the queue. Our dealers will do the best they can to fill orders as fast as possible. The stock situation changes daily.”

The Hyundai bulletin says the company “will endeavour to have the oldest customer sold cars prioritised, however this cannot always be guaranteed.”

The notice also added the wait periods are subject to change. On some models, Hyundai has asked dealers to stop taking orders.

Hyundai Australia says it “does not yet have visibility as to when Tucson 1.6 petrol variants can be delivered to dealers ... however (Hyundai) advises we will not be accepting any further customer orders indefinitely, therefore we recommend these prospects are introduced to Tucson (2.0-litre petrol or 2.0-litre diesel variants) until advised otherwise.”