New way for car buyers to track delayed vehicle arrivals

Volkswagen is rolling out an online search tool that will enable customers in Australia to track the delivery of their cars, from the factory gate to the showroom floor.

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The rollout of technology that will enable new-car buyers in Australia to track delayed vehicles from the factory gate to the showroom floor has been praised by the Australian Automotive Dealers Association as a win for consumers.

Volkswagen Australia is this week poised to introduce a new online search function that will help customers in the queue know the exact production and shipping status of their vehicle.

Until now, customers had to rely on updates from sales staff at the dealership, which can quickly become out of date.

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For now, Volkswagen is the only car brand to offer the search tool locally – in addition to an online portal added last year that enables customers to see dealer stock levels in real time across Australia at the click of a computer mouse.

The Australian Automotive Dealers Association, which represents more than 3000 showrooms nationally across most car brands, said it hopes other manufacturers follow Volkswagen’s lead.

“This is a great initiative from Volkswagen and will provide customers with greater transparency around the status of their orders,” said James Voortman, the CEO of the AADA.

“During this period of long wait times for cars, this will assist dealers to be upfront with customers.”

Further, the AADA said it would “welcome any other brands looking at introducing similar initiatives.”

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Last week, Australia’s top-selling car brand Toyota took the extraordinary step of revealing delays on some of its most popular models stretch up to 10 months.

Most other car companies continue to keep such information secret, communicating via confidential bulletins to dealers while customers are kept in the dark.

Recent moves by Toyota and Volkswagen aim to keep customers better informed amid the most severe new-car stock shortages in more than half a century.

In a media statement, Volkswagen Australia said it has “refined its online ordering capability so that the customer has full disclosure accurate to granular trim level and specification.”

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“With uncertainties caused by COVID-19 and the semi-conductor shortage, and some model grades subject to longer delays than others, (delivery estimates) are regularly updated as new information is received from the factories,” the statement from Volkswagen Australia continued.
 
Earlier this year, Volkswagen Australia became the first importer to publicly share which of its models would be subject to production constraints due to the global semiconductor shortage.

Volkswagen Australia’s general manager of marketing and products, Ralph Beckmann, said the vehicle tracking online tool is designed to give customers complete clarity regarding any unforeseen changes in delivery estimates.

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“Just as Volkswagen last year brought forward its online ordering capability in the face of the growing COVID-19 crisis, we have brought forward improvements to our configurator so that customers have the best and latest information,” Mr Beckmann said in a media statement.

“This information is regularly updated so that if the situation on the production line – or while being shipped – should change, the customer will be kept informed,” he said.
 
“We realise that the wait time on some orders is not going to come as great news and that some customers may choose to discontinue the purchase process or even take their business elsewhere,” added Mr Beckmann.

“Volkswagen considers that all the more reason to make customers fully aware of when their vehicle in the precise form desired will (arrive in Australia).”

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