Following a period of years when new Ford inventory – and automotive inventory levels, in general – remained at or near record-low levels, things have changed dramatically over the past few months. In fact, last November, Ford had the highest inventory levels of any mass market brand, and it remained above the industry average at the conclusion of 2023 as well. The recent release of new inventory data from Cox Automotive reveals that this situation hasn’t changed much either, though Ford inventory levels are at least a bit lower than The Blue Oval’s luxury brand, Lincoln – which currently sits at more than double the national average in that regard at the moment.
In January, Ford inventory levels closed out the month at a 104 days’ supply, which ranked as the eighth highest in the industry, as well as far higher than the national average of 80 days’ supply. That placed it behind only Ram, Genesis, Infiniti, Jeep, Buick, Nissan, and Audi, and significantly higher than some of its rivals such as Chevrolet, Toyota, and Honda.
At the beginning of February, the total U.S. supply of available unsold new vehicles stood at 2.61 million units, which is 870,000 units or 50 percent more than a year ago, though inventory was down from 2.66 million at the start of January. Meanwhile, the aforementioned 80 days’ supply mark is 38 percent higher than January 2023, though sales also increased by nine percent. In an effort to reduce these quickly-rising inventory levels, automakers have begun to reintroduce incentives, which helped average new vehicle pricing decline by one percent, year-over-year.
As for Ford, specifically, that brand has been busy doing precisely that, even introducing a “stair step” program for the Ford Bronco recently to reduce inventory. Regardless, some models are worse offenders than others, as the Ford F-150 Lightning and Ford Mustang Mach-E, specifically, have some of the highest inventory levels of any Blue Oval vehicle at the moment.
We’ll have more on the state of Ford inventory levels soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for comprehensive Ford news coverage.
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