The number of brand-new cars that have yet to find their first owners is breaking records. Shortly before the New Year, 3 million cars were sitting around collecting dust in the United States.
In the United States, over 3 million new cars are sitting around collecting dust in huge parking lots. The highest number of unsold cars this year.
This indicates a growing gap between automakers, with some brands managing to balance supply and demand, while others struggle with overstocked inventories.
According to data from Cox Automotive, there were 3.15 million unsold new vehicles in American parking lots at the beginning of November.
Although car sales in the United States increased in November by over 67,000 cars compared to October, and the average delivery time decreased by 5.9 percent to 85 days, there are still a number of automakers that are having trouble selling their cars.
Brands like Jaguar and Lincoln are facing particular challenges. Jaguar, which is planning a shift to electric vehicle production, has not launched new models in several years. Lincoln has struggled with inventory management despite a 28.4 percent increase in sales in the first 11 months of the year.
Dealers have a problem with the many unsold cars, as they have to pay for storage. The cars have an average value of 50,000 dollars, which means that the total value of the unsold cars is 173 billion Swedish kronor.
"These cars need to be washed and maintained, and few people want to buy a vehicle that has been sitting out in the sun for over a year, collecting dust and looking older than when it was first parked," says Sam Evans from the YouTube channel "The Electric Viking."
Ram and Jeep have 128 and 129 days of inventory, respectively. Ram had twice the industry average in September. Stellantis, which owns both Ram and Jeep, appears to be struggling to reduce its inventory.
At the other end of the scale, we find Lexus and Toyota, which have a delivery time of only 31 and 36 days, respectively.
The many unsold cars could lead to panic selling, where car manufacturers lower prices to get rid of the cars. Something that could have consequences for the entire car market.
However, it is far from new that car dealers cannot get rid of their cars. And that some have a harder time than others. Mercedes dealers, for example, find it very difficult to get rid of the brand's electric cars. Read more about it here .
