A global shortage of computer chips means that prices are up and certain vehicles may be harder to come by for Connecticut residents looking to purchase a new car.
Connecticut’s average new car sale price in August 2020 was $36,916. Last month, it was $42,252, nearly a 14.5% increase, according to data from Kelley Blue Book.
For used cars, the August 2020 price was $22,236 whereas the August 2021 price was $25,316, a 13.9% rise, according to Kelley Blue Book’s data.
Prices nationally have spiked in recent months, said Matt Degen, a Kelley Blue Book editor.
“Nothing has really been normal for the past year and a half. This is not normal either, the price rises that we’re seeing,” Degen said.
Microchip production slowed during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic as some factories shut down. And the longer people remained in isolation, the more electronics they purchased for working and attending school from home. This has resulted in a shortage that’s affecting the car industry in a major way, said Jeff Aiosa, director for the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association.
“That’s really the catalyst to the shortage,” Aiosa said. “Manufacturers in the peak of the pandemic were shut down on average two months … Because of that, they stopped placing orders for microchips, and that industry kept producing but pivoted to the high demand of the people that were working remote or the school students that were learning from home. And that demand just shifted from our industry to computers, to gaming.”
Manufacturers use microchips for climate control, bluetooth, GPS and some safety measures, among other features. Most of these chips are manufactured abroad, and some factories have shut down, Degen added.
...from News https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Microchip-shortage-causes-car-price-increase-in-CT-16449838.php
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