U.S. inventory levels stayed largely flat last month as automakers contended with slowing sales and lingering production issues, according to data compiled by Cox Automotive and the Automotive News Research & Data Center.
Dealers began the month with an estimated 1.04 million vehicles in inventory, the same 35-day supply they had at the beginning of January, Cox estimated.
That is still down sharply from the 2.79 million vehicles on hand at the same point a year earlier, and far fewer than the 3.35 million vehicles in inventory at the same point in 2020, prior to the pandemic.
“Supply is creeping up slowly with small steps, but some of that is because sales are weak, both on the new and used side,” Cox executive analyst Michelle Krebs said. “We think it will improve in the second half, and so do many automakers. But it’s going to be bumpy.”
