For Emilie Malherbe, choosing the color of her brand new Renault Arkana SUV was easy because only three were available: black, pearl-white and gray.

She and her husband swiftly settled on gray because what mattered most was getting the car delivered quickly.

¡°We heard on television that we could face delays of six to eight months to get a new car,¡± said Malherbe, 41, a resident of the Calvados region in northern France. ¡°I smiled when I was told 30 days. But I got it in 15 days, which was great.¡±