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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/expanded-testing-health-risk-warnings-and-alerts-among-new-measures-to-control SINGAPORE - It has been the best of times and the worst of times for local car dealers as demand accelerates, but a lack of vehicles worldwide has meant sales are stuck in the slow lane. The prolonged shortage of computer chips has forced carmakers to slash production, which has in turn hit sales and left frustrated motorists wondering when their shiny new ride will appear. Mr Fed Wu, who runs Allmotoring, a parallel importer and used-car trader, is bracing himself for further delays in the delivery of more than 10 new cars he ordered in March from Toyota and Mercedes-Benz. "I had placed the orders for Toyota cars in March and the shipment was scheduled to arrive last month. But I was told in July that it would be delayed again until October," said Mr Wu. "Anyone who buys a new Toyota now would have to wait till the first quarter of next year for his car to be delivered." Last month, Toyota, the world's largest automaker by sales volume, said it would cut production worldwide by 40 per cent this month because of the global chip crunch. The Japanese brand has long been the top-selling carmaker in Singapore. German luxury carmaker Daimler also expects sales to take a hit this year. A Daimler South-east Asia spokesman told The Straits Times that the worldwide shortage of some semiconductor components has caused delays in vehicle delivery for customers in various segments and customers in Singapore are not spared. "This shortage will impact sales in 2021," she said. "As visibility is limited at present and the situation remains volatile, we cannot assume when the shortage will be finally fixed, but we intend to catch up with the temporary reductions as soon as possible, as we see a constantly high customer demand for our Mercedes-Benz products in Singapore." Mr Neo Nam Heng, chairman of diversified motor group Prime, said his car supplier in Europe told him to expect delivery delays of about three months. Mr Neo, who is also the honorary adviser to the Automobile Importer & Exporter Association, said many of his members who are parallel importers of Mercedes-Benz have been holding some stock, which could "ease the situation". But as the market is "very competitive", parallel importers have not marked up the car prices. However, if the delay is prolonged, prices could rise, said Mr Neo. He added that before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, about 30,000 cars, or 40 per cent of total annual imports, were from parallel importers. Mr Wu, who is also the publicity officer of the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association, said the shortage of new cars has also led to the rise in demand for used and rental vehicles. Used car prices have gone up by about 15 per cent since March, because fewer used vehicles were being traded in as owners could not get new models, said Mr Wu. He added that car dealers have been trying to please angry customers by throwing in more freebies. Human resource officer Gerald Lim was lent a car to drive until his new Toyota Raize is delivered. Mr Lim, 30, said: "I was supposed to get my car in May but I am still waiting for further news from the dealer. In the meantime, the car dealer had lent me a used Toyota Axio to drive, for free. So I have no complaints." Mr Simon Ng, 61, who paid a deposit of around $10,000 for a new Toyota Yaris Cross in July, was expecting to get his car this month, but it now looks like there will be a further delay. "Delays in shipping are common. But I don't want to pay more for a certificate of entitlement (COE) later and COE prices have been rising," noted Mr Ng, a projects manager in the building industry, who added that he might cancel his purchase. The impact of the chip shortage has gone beyond cars. Prices of some laptops and game consoles that require semiconductor chips have gone up - if you can actually get hold of them. Mr Jeffrey Lee, who runs TechDeals, which sells computer parts at Sim Lim Square, said he has more than 50 customers on his wait list for a popular mid-range graphic card even though there is "no clarity from the supplier" on when the new stock will arrive. Motherboard prices have also gone up by about 10 per cent, added Mr Lee. Some electronics retailers at Sim Lim Square told The Sunday Times that they have more than 100 customers on wait-lists for the Sony PlayStation 5 (PS5) game console. "Some of these customers placed their names on the wait list before the PS5 was launched last November. Until now, they still can't get it," said Mr Leon Yip, who works at V3 Audio Video. But it is not impossible to get as some scalpers have been reselling the PS5, at about $1,200 or over $400 more than the recommended retail price, on Carousell.