One of the questions we’re most asked as a car lease company by our customers is when the car will arrive and whether the leasing process has an impact on delivery lead times.
Our article outlines the leasing process and timescales involved. It will help you understand when you’ll get your new electric car if you decide to lease with Xcite Salary Sacrifice, or if your employer already has a scheme with us and you’re deciding if Salary Sacrifice benefits you.
What is a Delivery Lead Time?
A delivery lead time is the time it is expected to take from the point of order to the point you receive your vehicle.
If your employer is already involved in the scheme you will get access to a portal where you will see the estimated delivery time for your chosen vehicle. This is based on the updates we receive from the dealer.
Can I Find Out the Lead Time Before I Commit?
Before you decide to commit to leasing a vehicle, our Sales Team will advise you of the lead time on any vehicle that you are interested in. We aim to provide you with as accurate a lead time as possible assisted by regular updates as the order progresses, which we receive from the dealer.
What is a Factory Order on the Salary Sacrifice Scheme?
A factory order is a vehicle you order from the factory rather than a vehicle that is currently in the production process or already manufactured. A factory order electric vehicle enables you to drive an electric car to suit your exact specification in terms of colour, engine and additional technology or trim packs that have been approved by your employer.
With a factory order, your vehicle will be assigned a build slot after the order has been placed. Once this slot has been confirmed, this will in turn give us an updated estimate of the lead time for your vehicle.
How Long Does a Factory Order Electric Car Take to Arrive?
The lead time on a factory order can vary between manufacturers and models, from anywhere between two weeks to six months. A few factors influence the lead time of a factory order electric vehicle including model demand, additional specifications, the time of year and factory location:
Model Demand
A really popular vehicle can often have a longer lead time than a less popular one as more customers are waiting to get their hands on it. Equally, a less popular model may well not be manufactured as often and so there might be a wait for it to come into production again. So model demand does affect lead times but not always in the way you might expect.
Additional Specifications
Certain options you might choose to add to your electric car can impact on lead times particularly if they aren’t available to fit at a particular time or take a while to fit. Some manufacturers will add specific packs or options to vehicles all at the same time, at a specific point in that model’s production cycle as this is more convenient for them.
Time of Year
Some factories also have annual shutdowns and some manufacturers focus on particular models at different times of the year. These can affect the delivery lead time for your vehicle, depending on when you order it.
Factory Location
Not many cars are produced in the UK now so shipping times to the UK can be several weeks, depending on where the factory is located.
Can I Reduce the Lead Time?
If you’re looking to get a car as quickly as possible then it would be best to speak to one of our team regarding which cars are in stock with the quickest estimated lead times and to complete your finance documents as quickly as possible.
How Do Finance Documents Impact Car Delivery Times?
You will need to have the finance documents completed and approved by the funder before we can arrange delivery, so the sooner these are completed the better, if you’re in a hurry to receive your car.
As soon as the finance documents are completed we will be able to arrange delivery, provided the vehicle is in stock, or initiate the rest of the process, if it is not.