Has your Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van pickup been delayed? Are you finding a difficult time trying to acquire a new Sprinter van? You&#;re not alone, as this is a nationwide problem Mercedes-Benz has faced consistently the last few years. Whether it&#;s emissions testing delays, parts shortages, or logistical backlogs, Mercedes-Benz has certainly had their hands full getting Sprinter vans out into the wild. The stackup of delays have truly hit a head, with deliveries being more impacted than ever these last few months. Here are the questions we&#;ll be shedding some light on.
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Because we&#;re a Mercedes-Benz Master Up-Fitter, we can get the inside scoop on Mercedes-Benz production queues and current limitations. One thing we&#;re for sure of is the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis delay is not an isolated incident and here are the reasons why.
You thought adding DEF into your van was inconvenient, well here is another issue. Ever since the diesel gate scandal, the EPA testing on the Mercedes diesel engines has become much more rigorous and frequent. The main delay is due to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires that Mercedes-Benz, and all other diesel manufacturers for that matter, recertify all diesel models to make sure they meet EPA emission control standards. Furthermore, Mercedes didn&#;t get their testing approval on the 3.0l 6 cylinder diesel used for most vans, and all 4×4 Sprinters, until July. In order to keep the factory up and running, vans were still produced during this no-sale period. Mercedes-Benz was not legally allowed to ship units to dealerships, causing them to acquire massive parking lots to store completed vans. This isn&#;t an uncommon method, as seen by Ford with thousands of F-150&#;s in Kentucky. Once Mercedes-Benz got their engine certification taken care of, one might say that the floodgates have opened for getting them delivered wherever they need to go.
With the huge demand for new Sprinter vans and the majority of them not being shipped out, the next issue includes trucking logistics and delivering these vans. Not unlike most other industries, the trucking industry is also facing a labor shortage nationwide. With the limited number of truckers available, we believe Mercedes-Benz will prioritize van deliveries based on large fleet orders then pre-sold units. Don&#;t be surprised if you see your local Amazon drivers sporting their model Sprinters long before you see one hit the showroom floor. We enjoy optimism though, so hopefully these delays on Mercedes-Benz end give you the proper time to order all the goodies needed for your build.
Similar to the emissions and trucking issues, there is a multi-layered problem revolving around the availability of the parts and materials we use on a day to day basis. During the heat of the pandemic, supply stores and warehouses were wiped clean by high customer demand for the products and materials needed to build their vans. Closed manufacturing plants caused the restocking effort of these warehouses to take its sweet time. Fortunately the factories have since reopened and are somewhat up to speed. Unfortunately, this worldwide delay resembles that of a heavy traffic jam, with Covid related factory closures and labor shortages acting as a major pileup at the head of the traffic. Imagine that the manufacturers who make the basic essentials that are universal to many different assembly plants are the first cars in this traffic jam. These companies are the foundation of all supply chains that produce raw materials like steel sheets or paint pigment. Just like an actual traffic jam, it takes a good amount of time to slowly creep along. Companies along the supply chain are creeping along simply waiting their turn to pass the wreck. Generally speaking, the farther back in the supply chain a company is, the longer their delays will tend to be.
While companies are under huge pressure to produce and ship products as soon as possible, it&#;s also important to factor in the logistics of the products each step of the way. Covid labor shortages and safety regulations have led to backups in the major shipping container ports. So even if your warehouse says their cargo container has shipped, it may be a while before it finally hits the shelves.
In addition to a delay in vans and products, there is another cause for the Sprinter van delays. Amazon has been buying up Sprinters, Transits, and Promaster vans to use as last mile delivery vehicles. These are the same vehicles often used for camper van conversions, making it more difficult for custom van conversion companies and customers to source their vehicles during this time.
If you&#;ve already ordered a NEW Sprinter the only thing you can do is wait. However, if you are currently looking for a van, we can assist in that search! Like we mentioned, we have a direct connection with Mercedes-Benz dealerships and generally have a handful of orders in process at all times.
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Another way to get your van is to simply be aggressive and ready to put down money. It&#;s not uncommon for people&#;s situations to change, making their van dream no longer a reality. Others may even put orders in at multiple dealerships, hoping to get one earlier than another. This creates duplicates that are then available to the next person on the list. Once these sprinter vans start to land at dealerships, more inventory will become available. Our dealer partners have already started to receive models! We anticipate that dealer parking lots will start to fill back up by the end of the year.
On the other hand, have you thought about a used Sprinter van for a conversion? We detailed the pros and cons of buying a New Sprinter vs a Used Sprinter For A Van Conversion.
It was well circulated in that there was a new car shortage due to manufacturers struggling to secure semiconductors. This shortage has not only affected the availability for cars, but vans too. The shortage of semiconductors first occurred due to the closing of many factories during the pandemic, with many employers struggling to retain their staff. As well as this, semiconductors saw an increase in demand due to home workers needing laptops and furloughed employees ordering Xbox and Playstation game consoles for that much needed something to do at home. All of these devices require semiconductors, leading to a sudden surge in the market.
Some van manufacturers have predicted that the parts needed to continue efficient new van production may not be available until the end of /the start of . So if you are in the market for a new van there may be a long wait, and even if you find one available to buy the price may be painfully expensive. And as a knock on effect, second hand vans have risen in price too, all because of the huge market demand.
The delays to new van deliveries are driving van values with Commercial Fleet recording that &#;The average selling price of a three-year-old medium-sized van, with 60,000 miles on the clock, for example, is 58% higher today than it was at the start of .&#; This has seen that older vans with more mileage are holding onto their value for longer meaning that individuals and businesses have cottoned on that they can sell these older, well used vans for a higher price.
Another reason vans are seeing a shortage recently is because of the rising van conversion trend. Due to the last years lockdown rules and travel restrictions many turned to buying and converting vans into mini motorhomes, as for a long time the only place we were allowed to holiday in was the UK and these motorhomes were the perfect way to holiday locally. These vans are now being sold on again now that everyone is returning to work, however buying one of these means that you will have the added expense of converting it back to a regular van, which for a lot of people is an expense and hassle that is simply not worth it.
Although this trend kept a lot of people occupied during the lockdown period it also meant that those who rely on vans for their trade found it hard to get their hands on one. We all know that during lockdown we also saw a rise in online shopping. This rise in online orders meant that more vans were needed for delivery, Charlie Duffield from inews stated that &#;In total 191,513 new vans were registered from January to June, marking a 76% increase in sales compared to the first half of &#;, all due to this rise in demand.
It is hard to say for certain when the prices for new and used vans will decrease again, but something to consider is hiring instead of buying. Especially if you find it financially unviable to buy at an outright cost at the moment. Have you considered contract hire instead of buying? If your answer is yes to both of these questions then get in touch with us on and we can help provide you with a van.
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