Toyota, Kia lead in first-half inventory efficiency

An inventory efficiency index developed by Cloud Theory ranked Toyota the most efficient mover of vehicle inventory in the U.S.

The index's June results show Toyota reclaiming the top spot over Kia. The two automakers have traded the top spot on the index since it launched this year.

Cloud Theory, of Grand Rapids, Mich., is a software company aiming to provide comprehensive, updated efficiency data to help manufacturers make decisions about marketing and inventory distribution.

The company's "inventory efficiency index" assigns scores to vehicle makes based on active inventory and sales data in comparison with competitors. A score below 100 indicates supply is outstripping demand, while a score above 100 suggests the vehicle is selling more efficiently than average.

Toyota scored 190.4, and Kia scored 189.7 in June. Both company's June scores appear higher than their May scores, but this is because of changes to the underlying data used to create the index and does not reflect improved efficiency. Based on the new data, both company's scores fell more than 10 points from May.

Toyota and Kia have been consistent leaders in the first half of the year, but the gap between them and third-place Honda is closing – all three are now separated by less than two points.

"Right now, it's pretty much a dead-heat among the three leaders, but the trends playing out among the second tier of leading makes will be just as relevant to monitor as the summer and fall proceed," said Rick Wainschel, vice president of data and analytics at Cloud Theory.

Although they remain in the top 10, Land Rover and Lexus' scores have both slipped steadily since January.

Meanwhile Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC are all on the upswing – good news for General Motors. There have been varying paths to that improvement, with Cadillac getting there by holding steady on vehicle movement in the face of declining inventories while the latter two brands are gaining on vehicle movement with steady supply positions, Cloud Theory noted in a statement.

Volkswagen also saw a significant score improvement in June.