Up to 16 week wait for urgent car parts to arrive from East Asia causing insurance worries
Motoring journalist Norrie Hunter on the delays and insurance woes of car owners who buy Chinese and Korean models
It’s been called “the silent breakdown across the EU that no-one saw coming” and one now affecting UK owners of some of the UK’s top selling Chinese and Korean made cars.
Deliveries of vital components, in particular replacement body panels, are taking months to arrive from the East Asia, causing owners waiting times of up to 16 weeks for repairs to damaged vehicles.
Since the explosion in sales of foreign made all-electric and traditional petrol and diesel cars in the UK and throughout Europe, increasing numbers of damaged cars are reported left languishing in garage repair shops and mainstream dealerships, awaiting factory-made body panels coming from overseas.
Manufacturers, who hadn't planned for the unprecedented boom in sales of their new cars - Chinese made products such as BYD, MG and Chery - were slow to establish sufficient locally held stocks in UK or European storage facilities but say they are now catching up with demand.
A BYD spokesman confirmed it was increasing the availability of parts in the UK..."BYD has a significant parts stock in the UK and aims to improve this in future, with additional UK warehouses and regional distribution centres planned".
Shipping supply problems are also contributing to delays.
The UK’s September’s new vehicle registration figures showed that Chinese government subsidised imports took a record 23.3 per cent of the market and 14.5 per cent of the overall European sales.
Manufacturers have been blamed for having no established supply-chain infrastructures close to major markets with Chery facing criticisms for part shortages for a number of its brands including its all electric models. It and other carmakers are defending their aftersales and parts service, claiming vast improvements have been made.
A spokesman for Chery in the UK said it was continuing the process of gearing up it's supply chain network. It has a presence in 18 European countries with total sales of over 160,000 vehicles since in Europe in September last year.
Martyn Rowley, executive director of the National Body Repair Association (NBRA) – it represents vehicle collision repairers and body shops across the UK – says these issues are still of major concern.
Insurance costs for certain models are reported to be rising.
Rowley stressed that this can also have financial implications for insurers, fleet operators, and the wider repair industry, particularly where replacement or courtesy vehicles are required for extended periods.
Insurers are also concerned. Certain companies are actively raising premiums on cars facing spare part delivery delays.
A recent Carwow investigation revealed that some customers with cars facing part delays are finding premiums rising, some companies are showing increasing concerns over repair costs and availability of spare parts. Some are treating certain brands “with extreme caution".
Both insurers and collision repair workshops have highlighted occasions where minor rear-end or side-impact accidents on models such as the MG4 EV or MG ZS EV frequently result in vehicles being written off.
Half the insurance companies surveyed declined to quote for the new Jaecoo 7. Others placed this model on a high premium (up to 80 percent higher).
Car part supply delays throughout the UK this year were not a temporary blip, according to trade bodies, but a structural problem costing garages money and lost labour hours as well as leaving customers frustrated.
But this is not an issue exclusive to Chinese manufacturers as other also experience parts availability problems with established European, Indian and South Korean manufacturers. These can occur when entirely new models are introduced to the UK market, but there can also be supply difficulties affecting models that have been in production for several years.
A recent reliability survey carried out by What Car? highlighted owners of the best selling, Jaecoo - it sold over 110,000 cars - had reported that after sales support and body parts backlogs were the biggest challenges they faced.
Evaluating 151 new car reviews, What Car? found customers frequently struggling with terrible customer service and extremely long delays for replacement parts. Its survey placed the Jaecoo 7 sixth from the bottom of 225 vehicles reviewed for service and parts issues.
Many garages throughout the country are having to navigate their way through a "body panel supply crisis" according to Motor Trades UK, with a “myriad of problems causing anxiety amongst customers and garage owners”.
Thatcham Research, the independent automotive at risk intelligence organisation believes problems were getting worse commenting that manufacturers of today's high tech cars find that "keeping a healthy supply of spares for each type of vehicle is dramatically increasing costs", according to Ben Townsend, its head of research.
Japanese maker Suzuki has better supply times for parts as it has an established a pan - European supply chain, though delays can still happen for certain spares.
Some delays are being blamed on "rapid market growth" and the popularity of new vehicles with some dealers having cars stranded in workshops for weeks or even months. Some are known to be adopting new tactics to bypass global supply chain delays, resorting to ‘alternatives sources’ including certified undamaged second-hand ‘green’ parts and vehicle dismantlers to keep repair work moving.
According to Breakeryard.com one of the leading car part finders in the UK, “no one saw this coming...the European aftermarket in spares is in gridlock with Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain suffering poor supply issues”.
The NBRA stresses that manufacturers must ensure adequate stocks of accident repair components are available in the UK and that effective ordering and distribution arrangements are in place.. “customers and repairers must receive clear communication when delays occur”. Undeniably, the cause of the current spares crisis has been the launch of new car brands way ahead of any strategic plan to deliver back-up parts availability.
Some East Asian manufacturers are known in the trade to prefer supplying entire vehicle sections, such as a whole side or full boot floors rather than individual replacement panels.
It will be interesting to see how this situations pans out but currently it does not give after sales service comfort for many purchasers of these new breeds of modern cars.
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