Car dealers optimistic supply of new vehicles will come this spring
CBC
Amid a shortage of new cars on P.E.I. throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, some P.E.I. car dealers say they are being told by manufacturers that supplies and inventory should start to level out come March or April.
"It's still early for inventory predictions for the calendar year, but I would say things are more positive than they were in 2021," said P.E.I. Automobile Dealers Association (PEIADA) executive director Lisa Doyle-MacBain.
However, some Islanders have already taken their own measures in order to adapt to the lingering supply chain delays.
Kensington resident Gordon Coffin has been reluctantly driving his convertible in the middle of winter while awaiting the year-round four-by-four he ordered in September.
"I'm not going to put winter tires on a convertible, OK," said Coffin. "It's not what I should be driving."
For the last few years, he drove a four-by-four truck ideal for withstanding harsh winters, but he said he wanted to downsize and also obtain a new hybrid vehicle.
Coffin was hopeful it would arrive before winter. But due to the delay, his only option is to be extremely careful where he goes with his car.
Despite noticing the low inventory at the Summerside car lots he's driven past, Coffin said he knows others who have gotten their orders on time.
"My dealer was very upfront with me and says, 'We are experiencing supply chain issues,'" said Coffin.
"Christmas has come and gone and the dealer has been responsive, but apparently there's not a thing that the dealer can do."
Doyle-MacBain said manufacturers typically give more incentives for past year models that dealerships normally receive in the first quarter of the following year, which means buyers can get a combination of lower prices, cash back or low financing rates.
"Customers are being very understanding and patient and they're prepared to wait for their factory orders, and sometimes it's up to six months," said Doyle-MacBain.
For those waiting on their cars, Doyle-MacBain said vehicles ordered in 2021 but arriving in 2022 will continue to hold their value.
She recommends anyone in the market for a vehicle speak directly with local dealerships for availability information as inventory levels depend on the manufacturer and brand.
Police services across northern Ontario say most illicit drugs circulating in their communities are being transported from southern parts of the province, while prescription drugs diverted into the illegal market continue to pose a serious and ongoing threat.
The case of a child who was killed by his mother shortly after being returned from foster care has shed a rare and needed spotlight on the child welfare system, say experts in the field.
G.E. Barbour may be best known for its King Cole tea, but the Sussex company’s peanut butter is apparently what everyone wants overseas.
Seven years into an early onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Sandra Demontigny's home is full of reminders.
A blizzard gusting across southern Manitoba is leaving a long list of highway and school closures.
While a blizzard threatened outside, Saskatoon city council endured an icy blast inside city hall from a Riversdale business leader over its homeless initiatives.
This is a story about fire, faith and marshmallows.
Alberta’s population bucked the trend that almost every other Canadian province and territory experienced last quarter, Statistics Canada population estimates suggest.
A U.S. judge on Wednesday blocked Michigan from enforcing a 2020 order to shut down Enbridge's Line 5 oil pipeline running beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes, ruling that pipeline safety is a federal responsibility.
When retired RCMP constable Jason Hydamacka heard the news that the insurance money for his amputated leg was coming, he sat in his truck and cried.
As Neskantaga First Nation’s youngest band councillor, Lashaunda Waswa says she wants to inspire the next generation to protect the community’s land, water and wildlife.
Toronto has seen a drop in crime rates across the city, but its police chief says youth crime rates continue to be a cause for concern.
Cambridge council has voted to request a pedestrian safety review of Cedar Street from the region after two back-to-back collisions last week, one of which killed a three-year-old girl.