Top 10 New Vehicles that Languish on Dealer Lots, Fall 2017
Since our previous Top 10 list of new vehicles that languish on dealer lots, published in January 2017, was a popular read, we decided to update the list in order to discover if there are consistencies or wild variations.
Let us remind you that it’s the number of days in inventory reported by automakers of their makes and models. In theory, a high number means a model stagnates and has trouble finding buyers. In these cases, substantial rebates or financial incentives will likely be offered to liquidate inventory. Sometimes, a manufacturer will interrupt production at the assembly plant in order to reduce inventory, temporarily laying off its employees. For example, a number of 100 means it will take one hundred days to sell what’s in stock.
Inversely, a low number of inventory days usually means the model sells well, at the detriment of a wide selection for the consumer. A number of 30 hints that there are just enough vehicles in inventory for a month of sales.
In the United States, the brands that have the smallest inventories are Genesis (22 days in inventory), Subaru (37), BMW (44), MINI (44, Toyota/Scion (48) and Audi (48). Those with the largest number of units in inventory are Fiat (150), Volkswagen (149), Buick (134), Mitsubishi (112) and Lincoln (108). The industry average currently is 71 days, up from 63 in January 2017.
However, this list must be taken with a grain of salt. These numbers reflect the U.S. market, not Canada, and the inventories could differ from one country to another.