News
Car market stifles as sales dip due to delivery delays
Car dealers are forced to sit back and watch the market crumble, as the new vehicle market is being held back while the industry has trouble delivering to customers due to supply chain shocks.
According to the Motor Vehicles Dealers Association (MVDA), a delay of six to nine months should be expected in delivery.
“Orders from certain countries are not reaching Mauritius. Some shipping lines are no longer serving Mauritius and this is further complicating matters. If someone wants to buy a new vehicle, the choice is restricted to what is in stock,” said MVDA secretary Mrinal Teelock told Defi Media.
He indicated that international situations such as the the pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis are causing long delays in car deliveries, especially since several models on assembled in Ukraine.
The MVDA said concerns are also growing in terms of supply of spare parts.
The situation is similar for reconditioned/pre-owned vehicles. Dealers in Imported Vehicle Association (DIVA) corroborated that “there is a significant drop in the number of ships docking in Port-Louis. And when they do come, often with delays, orders are sometimes not there.”
The cost of freight has almost tripled, added DIVA President Zaid Ameer, who fears the availability of pre-owned vehicles and spare parts could become a real issue.
Both the MVDA and DIVA have urged the government to “lease the two ships, as announced in the Budget, as soon as possible in order to relieve the population”.