Those unfortunate customers who have ordered a brand new car but been told to wait due to supply-chain and semi-conductor shortages will probably have to wait a little longer.

Brexit promised supply-chain issues, the global pandemic compounded those problems by bringing a shortage of microchips (semi-conductors) and with many motor manufacturers bringing their production lines to a halt during the worst of lockdown, the industry is still feeling the reverberations.

All this has impacted the number of new cars available to customers, with waiting lists for the new models now going beyond 12 months in many cases. The industry has hardly had chance to take a breath and now the early impacts of the Ukraine crisis are beginning to hit home.

While Renault bosses warned that its order backlog had hit record highs in the first quarter of 2022, Volvo boss Martin Lundstedt has revealed the true extent of supply-chain issues caused by the war in Ukraine. A resurgence of Covid in China has also caused problems.

“The situation in the global supply chain for semiconductors and other components remains unstable, characterized by disruptions, unpredictability and lack of freight capacity,” Volvo CEO Lundstedt said.

“The continued spread of covid-19 particularly in China and the war in Ukraine are putting additional pressure on the already strained supply chain and production system.”

Renault’s revenue fell by 2.7 per cent in the opening quarter of the year, with an expectation that they will make 300,000 fewer cars than expected in 2022. Volvo have actually seen an increase in sales, up 12 per cent, but the company has taken drastic measures, including stockpiling parts to navigate through the crisis.

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