well not completely true, kia and hyundai were one of the only few manufactures that did not cancel or reduce the chip supply when the pandemic hit, thats why they were in better standing than most, just like this ukraine thing going on is hurting most europe base brands who relied on wiring harnesses from ukriane.
Correct, they didn’t – but they got hit the same way as anyone else after. Keep in mind, chips are ordered “just in time”, that means the order that they didn’t cancel lasted for exactly one “round” of production.
They’re in the same weeds now as everyone else, which is reflected in the build times.
Hyundai and Kia are quoting roughly the same timeframe as VW – as mentioned, around 6-10 months for a Tucson, 10+ for a Santa Fe, same for the Kia Sorento. The E-Niro is around 6-10 months as well.
So, it’s correct that VWs backlog is one production round “longer” than Kia/Hyundais, but by now, they all are in the same boat. Another reason is the fact that VAG simply sells more cars than Kia/Hyundai, of course exaggerating the problem.
And i’m not defending or suggesting anything here – i hate the wait times as much as everyone else (still 10ish months to go by my estimate, for a total of around 16 months then), but while it was true that HMG had quicker delivery times at the beginning of the pandemic, this isn’t the case anymore.
Prior: SEAT Ateca Xcellence Lux 1.5 TSI DSG MY19, VW Golf GTE PHEV DSG MY23
Current: Hyundai Ioniq 6 Ultimate
Next: we'll see what's available in 2028.