After being forced to delay production for a short time, Mercedes-Benz is reportedly extending its product delivery time to one year. This notable delay is due to the ongoing semiconductor crisis that has been affecting manufacturers on a global scale.
As reported by Reuters, the German manufacturer Chief Executive Ola Kallenius told a German newspaper in an interview on Friday that “Demand is huge at Mercedes-Benz and at the same time there are unfortunately severe limitations,
“For some models the waiting times are longer than we would like, in some cases over a year.”
Kaellenius repeated a previous prediction that the troubles with chip supply plaguing automakers worldwide would continue into 2023, as structural problems as well as pandemic-induced lockdowns in key supplier countries persist.
Earlier this month, a report suggested that Mercedes-Benz and BMW have had to restrategise their product line-up to meet the increasing customer demand. Despite the pandemic not being over, consumers are finding themselves in a financial condition to start splashing out on these products.
As a result of this, the two manufacturers could be looking at switching focus to bigger and more expensive cars that target higher profit margins rather than rely on traditional volume-based products in more compact segments. The goal is to sell fewer cars but make more money.
