Dealers Now Have Nearly Two Million New Cars Sitting On Their Lots
Photo: Brandon Bell (Getty Images)
New-vehicle inventory at dealers in the U.S. is continuing its slow and steady climb upward as production around the world recovers following the brunt of the pandemic. According to Automotive News, that trend was no different in June, and unsold electric vehicles are a big reason why.
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Data from Cox Automotive, reported by Auto News, says that there are an estimated 1,953,512 vehicles sitting unsold on dealer lots right now. That works out to a 53-day supply – which is up 75 percent from the same time just one year ago. It’s also up very slightly from a month earlier, when supply stood at 1,928,619 vehicles. Cox reportedly generates this data by looking at the sales rate from the previously 30-day period.
The big reason for this 53-day average supply comes down to one thing: EVs. According to the outlet, those vehicles have a 103-day supply. That makes it the only segment other than ultra-luxury and high-end luxury to have supplies on the other side of 100 days. However, Cox does point out that full-size cars were close at 99 days, but that’s not really that surprising.
On the flip side of the coin are compact and midsize cars and crossovers. They reportedly have the tightest inventories.
From Auto News’ reporting, it can be asserted that inventory levels were the lowest among lower-priced vehicles, and stock seems to grow in proportion with price. That’s not too much of a surprise. I mean, who really has the money to buy an expensive car right now? Exactly. No one does. Another interesting little factoid is that Toyota and Honda have nine of the top 10 nameplates with the smallest supply.
Auto News reports that among the seven automakers who still report monthly sales and inventory figures, six saw their days’ supply level increase last month between one and four days. Only Volvo stayed level.
So, if you want a deal on the car, we may not be where we were a few years ago, but things are starting to get back to normal-ish.
