Carmakers stare at nearly 500,000 units of booking backlog, and counting

Chip shortage disrupts production plans

Ahead of the peak festive season, India's passenger vehicle makers are staring at a cumulative order backlog of nearly 500,000 units as chip shortage continues to cripple production.

The crisis is forcing companies to change their production plans frequently and take a call on the variants they can manufacture based on the availability of semiconductors.

The booking numbers are not a true reflection of demand, said manufacturers. Owing to long waiting periods, which are only getting stretched, buyers are booking multiple brands, and not all of it would translate into sales. A buyer may book models of three different brands,