New cars with the shortest delivery waiting times revealed

They may not be the fastest cars on the market, but if you are in a hurry to get a brand new car onto your driveway, Nissan’s Qashqai SUV is proving the quickest route to fulfilling an order.

The Sunderland-built family car – one of the UK’s top-selling models – has the shortest waiting time of 13 weeks, new research by car warranty experts MotorEasy shows.

When it comes to electric cars, that’s matched by the Hyundai Ioniq. for which the wait is also 13 weeks. 

By contrast, Volvo’s XC40 SUV can take up to a year to arrive.

A perfect storm of problems – a shortage of key microprocessor chips, the knock-on effects of Covid and the war in Ukraine – has led to demand for new cars exceeding supply and to extended waiting times.

That in turn has seen the price of nearly new and other used cars soaring as consumers seek a new set of wheels.

MotorEasy used Department of Transport data and factory order waiting periods from car dealerships to produce their tables of waiting times for new cars.

Among petrol and diesel cars, the shortest wait after the 13 weeks for the Nissan Qashqai is the Volkswagen T-Roc SUV and BMW 3 Series, both of which have a 14-week lead times.

Customers who order a Volkswagen Polo or Kia Sportage today can expect their delivery to arrive within 20 weeks, while requests for Ford’s Kuga and Puma SUVs won’t be fullfilled for 20 weeks.

Those wanting to buy popular models like the VW Tiguan and Golf,  Ford Fiesta, Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Nissan Juke and Vauxhall Corsa will have to wait six months or longer for their cars to be delivered.

The Volkswagen T-Roc (left) and BMW 3 Series (right) have lead times on deliveries of 14 weeks

One car with very long delivery delays is the Volvo XC40, which, if ordered today, will arrive in a year

As for electric models, delay periods appear to be relatively similar.

The shortest waiting times are 13 weeks for the Hyundai Ioniq and 14 weeks for the Tesla Model 3.

Other EV waiting times are: Renault Zoe and Peugeot e-2008 (both 22 weeks); Hyundai Kona (23 weeks); Jaguar I-Pace and MG ZS (both 26 weeks); MINI Cooper SE (28 weeks); Vauxhall Corsa-e (29 weeks); Nissan Leaf and Mercedes-Benz EQC (34 weeks); VW ID.3 (41 weeks); Audi e-tron and Volvo XC40 Recharge (both 52 weeks).

Commenting on the short turnaround for the Sunderland-built Qashqai, MotorEasy said: ‘The low delivery time may be thanks to the Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd headquarters being based in the North East of England, resulting in vehicles spending less time spent in transit.

‘However, the wait time doesn’t translate for all of the Nissan range with the Juke taking 26 weeks and the Leaf being up to 34 weeks’.

The Hyundai Ioniq (left) is the electric car with the shortest delivery time at the moment, at just 13 weeks. The Tesla Model 3 (right) is next on the list at 14 weeks

Like the petrol XC40, Volvo’s electric version of the same compact SUV – the XC40 Recharge – have a lead time of 52 weeks on deliveries, says MotorEasy

Duncan McClure-Fisher, chief executive, added: ‘The waiting list for cars is at an all-time high. With delays caused by the ongoing global pandemic and staff absence, the semiconductor shortages, and now the crisis in Ukraine, people are waiting longer and longer for new vehicles to make it onto the roads.

‘Drivers can avoid the wait by opting to lease a car or buy a second-hand vehicle or even keep their current vehicle until the chip shortage is due to improve in 2023.’

The waiting time issue is epitomised by UK car manufacturers who have revealed that global supply challenges has wiped 100,000 cars from UK automotive output in first quarter of 2022 alone.

Latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that UK car manufacturing declined 32.4 per cent during the first three months of this year , with almost 100,000 fewer vehicles made than in the same period last year.

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