Good News!  New Vehicle Inventory Approaching 3 Million Vehicles

As I’ve told you on the Car Pro Show, new vehicle inventory continues to build.  Why is that good news for you?  That means dealers are more eager to move cars, and as inventory grows, so do incentives. - Jerry Reynolds, host of the Car Pro Show

New vehicle inventory continues to slowly increase, outpacing demand, according to Cloud Theory, a real-time automotive data insights provider. In its July On The Horizon report, Cloud Theory shares that new vehicle inventory hit 2.93 million in the current month. New vehicle movement, on the other hand, has hit a plateau, sitting at 1.13 million. That metric is forecasted to remain at that same level in July.

Chart: Cloud Theory/PR Newswire.

According to Cloud Theory's press relesae, diagnostic numbers also point to a continued flattening of demand, with turn rates unchanged in the current month at 39%. Average marketed pricing ticked up for the third straight month. Cloud Theory cites model mix shifts and early model year changeovers as the reason for this, rather than an ability to command premium prices. Cloud Theory points to a continued increase in market adjustment levels, which measures the gap between marketed discounts and MSRP. It says that differential has grown by $1,000 over the past year.

"Even though inventory growth has slowed to a trickle, it is still going up," said Rick Wainschel, Vice President of Data Science & Analytics at Cloud Theory. "With a stabilizing demand picture, this is putting pressure on sellers to rely more heavily on incentives and pricing discounts."

According to the report, Toyota Motor Corporation continued to dominate this month's Inventory Efficiency Index (IEI) scores at a brand level, with Toyota and Lexus holding the top two spots. General Motors also built on its strong showing, with Chevrolet moving up four ranks to #4, Buick moving up one spot to #7, and GMC re-entering the top 10.

Looking at a longer-term trend, Cloud Theory says Toyota has broadened its IEI lead over Honda, while Lexus grew for the second consecutive month. "TMC's first-half dominance in moving their inventory efficiently across multiple segments shows that their strength is very widespread," said Ron Boe, Chief Revenue Officer at Cloud Theory, "but General Motors has a deep lineup in the SUV and truck segments, and that gives it an advantage over other makes as well."

Photo: Freeman Toyota, Hurst TX. Credit: CarPro.