The scarcity of used vehicles is causing a seismic upheaval in the automotive sector in the city of Calgary. Dealerships and customers alike are feeling the impact of this scarcity, which is upsetting established purchasing habits and driving up costs. The variables including changing customer preferences, supply chain interruptions, and the COVID-19 pandemic's aftereffects, are cited by experts as contributing to this shortage.
“The discharge of pre-owned cars had led the price to increase significantly. Like if you compare the price of a pre-owned unit today and three years ago, they’re going to be like, hugely inflated prices, so that’s the reason for the shortage of vehicles”, said Andre Couto, the sales executive of South-trail Chrysler in Calgary.
The market of used cars in Calgary is changing the local automotive market's dynamics in addition to upending conventional purchasing habits. Because there are fewer options available, customers are competing fiercely for the few available automobiles, which is driving up prices and making it harder to find cars, that are reasonable. This scarcity is especially noticeable in popular automotive classes like SUVs and compact cars.
“I think that during the next 12 months, maybe two years, the price should be like standard, not what it was before COVID”, said Andre Couto.
Due to the shortfall, local dealerships are finding it difficult to keep up with demand for used vehicles and to restock their inventory. A lot of dealers are turning to innovative strategies like paying top dollar for trade-ins or obtaining cars from other states to add to their inventory. For customers, this means that when looking for used cars, there will be more competition, longer wait periods, and higher pricing.
“Some people are taking advantage of this increased price to sell the unit and they’re just trying to break the market because market is starting to come down a little bit, so they want to sell their inventory before the price drop”, said Andre Couto.
“The cheap options are taking long time to produce and deliver to the client is the major reason for choosing used car as compared to new one”, said Vansh Kansal.
To stay competitive in the industry, dealerships are looking at different sourcing tactics and modifying their pricing policies. Policymakers are thinking about providing incentives to increase the supply of used cars and lessen the burden on consumers.
To restore equilibrium of the automobile sector, dealerships in Calgary are collaborating to navigate the difficult times and coming up with creative solutions to overcome the situation of the scarcity of pre-owned vehicles.
