New, used cars still in short supply in Las Cruces & Borderland

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- As the pandemic winds down, car dealerships across the Borderland are still having trouble finding a stable replenishment of vehicles.

Two dealerships in Las Cruces spoke with ABC-7 about the short supply of inventory.

Cliff Shamaley with Nissan Shamaley said he was looking at an almost barren lot in early June 2021, but had just received a 60-days supply of cars.  The Borman Autoplex, though, says it is still waiting on more from their factories.

David Wilson, a spokesperson for the Borman Autoplex, told ABC-7 that a computer chip shortage remains the main culprit for the lack of vehicle supply.

"Appliances, game consoles, it's all microchip driven. An automobile has around 150 micro chips in it," noted Wilson.

The Borman Autogroup said that new Covid-19 flare ups throughout Asia are also causing problems with the manufacturing of needed microchips.

Wilson went on to explain that due to the lack of new vehicles, used cars are selling very well.

"A 2006 Mazda 3 in good condition that was probably worth around $3,000 is now worth around a thousand dollars more right now," Wilson said.

And then there's this question: What becomes of the car salesman who has no inventory to sell?

"They have a lot less to do, so you do more longer term maintenance cleaning.  You get them on other projects that have been pushed aside," Wilson indicated.