Auto production slowdown delays Calgary car deliveries
Troubles in the North American auto sector are hitting Calgary dealerships, causing waits of up to two months for some vehicles.
Third-quarter sales for General Motors Corp. tumbled, the company reported last week, leading to layoffs for 3,600 workers, including 500 at GM's plant in Oshawa, Ont., and a production slowdown.
The other big two automakers, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler, are also reporting huge losses.
They've asked the U.S. Congress for a $50-billion bailout to avert a collapse of the auto industry.
'We haven't ever seen a situation where the production capacity has actually been reduced by the company, which has then in turn impacted us here on this end.'—Jay McKeen, dealership managerJay McKeen, managing partner of Northland Pontiac in Calgary, said sales have not gone down from last year, but his company is having a hard time getting stock in.
"We actually had six customers that we were unable to fill their orders. So we're actually finding a problem where we're having trouble having enough product to keep up with our consumers' demand," he said on Wednesday.
Demand for the smaller, fuel-efficient 2009 Pontiac Vibe is high, but because GM is slowing production across the continent, the wait for delivery is up to eight weeks long — or customers have to pick another model.
"So going forward, the big concern is, can we maintain even this level of meeting our consumers' demands," wondered McKeen.
"We haven't ever seen a situation where the production capacity has actually been reduced by the company, which has then in turn impacted us here on this end."
The instability of GM also worries managers of Calgary parts stores, who depend on GM to manufacture things like air and fuel filters and spark plugs.
"You know it's going to affect our sales overall, especially to our retail customers as well as some of our wholesale accounts," said Grant Lucas, manager of PartSource in northwest Calgary.
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