There was a time – mere months ago – when new vehicle inventory was routinely hovering near or at record low levels, but things have changed dramatically over the first few months of 2024. Now, most automakers are grappling with inventory levels that are higher than what most would consider ideal, and that list includes Ford. In fact, Ford inventory levels are so high at the moment that CFO John Lawler recently admitted he is “concerned” about that rising figure, and things didn’t improve in May, either.
According to new data from Cox Automotive, new Ford inventory levels closed out May at a 101 days’ supply, which is one of the highest in the industry, as well as far above the average of 74 days’. This trend is nothing new, however, as new Ford inventory levels closed out January at a 104 days’ supply, followed by 91 days’ in February and 97 days’ in March, while April saw that figure increase yet again, to a 100 days’ supply. Last month, things degraded ever so slightly, too.
Only a handful of brands finished April with higher inventory levels than The Blue Oval, a list that includes Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Ram, and Fiat – each of which had a days’ supply of inventory that was at least double the industry average – as well as Jeep, Lincoln, Dodge, Chrysler, Audi, and Genesis. As for the overall market, new vehicle inventory actually dropped by four days month-over-month to 74, however, resulting in 2.89 million units sitting on dealer lots – two percent fewer than May 2023.
Much of this decline was spurred by a boost in sales, which is typically the case thanks to deals run over Memorial Day weekend – one of the stronger selling periods for automobiles in the calendar year. According to Cox Automotive, sales rose by around nine percent last month versus a year ago, while the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of sales was 15.9 million – the fastest pace of 2024 so far and enough to keep the industry on track for its best new-vehicle sales year since 2019.
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