LAST MONTH’S NEW car sales were the worst recorded for the traditionally bumper month of September since the UK switched to the twonumberplates-a-year system in 1999 (p8). The reason? It’s that shortage of semiconductor computer chips again, which are causing serious ongoing harm to the production of new cars and their availability.
The tip of the iceberg is the Ford Fiesta. For so long Britain’s best-selling car, it didn’t even make the top 10 in September. There is not one Fiesta in stock in the UK, and if you order one now, it’ll arrive after next March. We reveal other remarkable, long lead times this week (p50). How about 2023 for a new Land Rover Defender?