The secretary general of the National Association of Automobile Commerce and Repair Companies (ANECRA), Roberto Gaspar, told the paper that “fleet managers are constantly extending deadlines with their customers because they do not have new cars for replacement, so they propose to renew for another year. And, in some cases, they are using a new figure: a new lease contract [long-term vehicle rental] on cars aged up to three years, even making two or three contracts with the same car".

The manager added that these contracts were unusual and that the used car market, which is heavily fuelled by the managers, is suffering during this shortage. Roberto Gaspar also says that the power is now on the side of the manufacturers. "It's the law of the market at work: when there was a lot of supply, these operators had more negotiating power, because they bought in quantity and thus got good discounts. Now, when there is more demand, it is the manufacturers who dictate the rules and fleet managers, who, if they want to make a new contract, pay higher prices".

The current shortage of new cars on the market started in the initial phase of the pandemic, when the restrictions imposed led to the lack of some components necessary for the manufacture of vehicles, mainly semiconductors. These components are mostly manufactured in Asian countries and territories, such as the island of Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, which have imposed some of the most restrictive anti-Covid measures in the world.