Wait Times For Some Kia, Hyundai And Genesis Models Reaches Two Years Plus

Of course, the answer is that it depends on a number of things. Where do you live? What brands and models are interested in? Where is the brand or model you are interested in made and how popular is it? For example, according to Carscoops, South Korean customers of 26 different Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) models are facing up to 30 month wait times for delivery of their new vehicles. For reference, HMG consists of Hyundai, Genesis and Kia. This is rather striking considering these times are for their home market. A year ago the wait times were only 7 - 11 months, so things seem to be getting worse rather than better, a trend automakers were not predicting last year. It is worth pointing out that the most popular SUV and crossover models seem to average longer wait times than cars.

What about other markets? For the U.S. and Canadian markets, Kia PHEVs and HEVs have “one of the longest wait periods” of any new vehicles they sell and Kia EV’s are at 12-24 month wait times according to Car Help Corner. Non-electrified Kias do have shorter wait times of up to 8 months in the North American market, and again popular SUV and crossover models tend to have longer wait times than cars. What I find particularly interesting though, is that although Kia’s year-to-date sales are down from last year (by 7%, through the end of September), Kia’s sales of its 3 most popular SUVs are all up. These models are the Sportage (up 14%), Telluride (up 2%), and Sorento (up 4%). Might some of the scarcity be caused by the number or types of precious semiconductor chips Kia and the other HMG brands use in their most popular vehicles? That’s hard to say, but YAA pointed out that Hyundai saw a few months’ supply of semiconductor chips for its Ioniq 5 canceled by their manufacturer recently. Perhaps this is why some automakers are taking cues from Tesla and either investigating making their own chips, or redesigning vehicles to use fewer, but more powerful chips. One more thing I think is worth pointing out: though Kia’s year-over-year 2022 U.S. sales are down 7% compared to last year, 2022 is still the 2nd best sales year Kia has had in the U.S. All things considered, that suggests to me that it is more the demand for specific Kia, Hyundai and Genesis models that is driving the wait times (and demand for their electrified SUV models in particular). The high demand is because first, people want SUVs and secondly gas prices are very high and this means the demand for more fuel efficient or plug-in SUVs is insatiable right now. HMG makes more electrified SUVs and crossovers than most other manufacturers too, so that’s why we are seeing such long waits.

North America and South Korea are not alone when it comes to long waits. Australia is seeing average wait times of 170 days (of course some models are being delivered in less time, and others in more time). The U.K. is seeing 3 - 9 month waits for electric Kia models (as of mid 2022).

Are you waiting for a new Kia, Hyundai or Genesis vehicle? Are you waiting for a different brand? Is the model you are waiting for electrified? If so, what has your wait been like? Please leave your questions or comments below.

Images courtesy of Kia and Hyundai.

Justin Hart has owned and driven electric vehicles for over 14 years, including a first generation Nissan LEAF, second generation Chevy Volt, Tesla Model 3, an electric bicycle and most recently a Kia Sorento PHEV. He is also an avid SUP rider, poet, photographer and wine lover. He enjoys taking long EV and PHEV road trips to beautiful and serene places with the people he loves. Follow Justin on Twitter for daily KIA EV news coverage.