The U.S. inventory has risen back above 1 million vehicles for the first time since early August, with domestic brands seeing their stocks recovering at a faster rate than those of Asian and European automakers, according to data compiled by Cox Automotive and the Automotive News Research & Data Center.
Dealers began the month with an estimated 1.1 million vehicles in inventory, a 35-day supply, Cox estimated. That is still down sharply from the 2.9 million vehicles on hand at the same point a year earlier, and far less than the 3.5 million vehicles in inventory at the same point in 2019.
However, some automakers are beginning to show signs of recovery, including Ford and Stellantis. Cox said at the brand level, Ford, Jeep, Ram, Hyundai, Nissan and Chevrolet had inventory that grew last month, while Toyota, Kia, Honda and Subaru sold more vehicles than their available supply over the previous 30-day period.
Among automakers continuing to report their monthly inventories, Ford had the strongest inventory and was the only automaker with more than a one-month supply on hand, while Subaru said it had dropped to just a four-day supply, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center.
Within segments, Cox said high-performance, subcompact and compact cars had the tightest supplies, while full-size cars and battery-electric vehicles still had nearly a two-month supply. Levels were lowest for Honda's CR-V and Accord, the Toyota RAV4 and Lexus RX, Cox said.
