DesRosiers Automotive Consultants’ latest update reveals that most consumers are willing to wait anywhere from a week to three months to receive their newly-purchased vehicle.
DAC reached out to dealers and consumers to gather data on the perceived future of this new dynamic; it differs from pre-pandemic trends of consumers mainly buying from inventory, rather than today’s growth of build-to-order (BTO) vehicle purchases. Data shows that 55.7% of vehicle buyers would be willing to wait more than a month.
“Consumers are clearly willing to wait a reasonable amount of time to take delivery of their desired vehicle,” said Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC, in a statement. “Assuming supply chains are working efficiently and vehicles can be delivered in a timely manner, extensive on the ground inventory does not appear to be a prerequisite for success in meeting consumer demand.”
The firm’s research indicates that only 10.1% of consumers are willing to wait less than a week, while 34.2% are willing to wait up to a month and 33.1% said they can wait between one and three months. Another 22.6% said they would be willing to wait more than three months.
“Dealers also clearly believe that some form of BTO is here to stay,” said DAC in its update. “When asked about their outlook for sales in 2030, dealers stated that they expect 45.3% of sales at that time to be BTO — with traditional inventory sales at 54.7%.”
DAC’s Light Vehicle Study is an annual survey of 4,500 Canadian vehicle maintainers and purchasers. It tracks vehicle maintenance incidence, costs, DIY/DIFM rates, brand preferences, and more.
