Following a period of years when it was tough to find just about any kind of new vehicle, inventory has swollen rapidly – more so for certain brands than others. Unfortunately for Ford, it’s among that group, as its inventory levels remain high above the industry average, while Lincoln’s inventory levels are more than double that mark. Regardless, Stellantis also has one of the highest inventory levels in the business across all of its brands – a list topped by Jeep – which has prompted it to make some changes.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Stellantis temporarily halted production of the Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee last week at its plants in Toledo, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan, though it’s unclear how many days assembly lines were idled. Regardless, what we do know is that the automaker made these moves amid swelling inventory and faltering sales, as well as complaints from dealers that have resulted from both.
“Stellantis continues to take the necessary actions to improve operations in the U.S. market,” the company said in a statement. “The company will continue to monitor the situation to assess whether further action is required,” adding that its assembly lines are back up and running. Both Jeep and Dodge ended July with a four-month supply of vehicles, compared to an industry average of just 68 days’ supply, while Stellantis’s overall sales have plummeted by 21 percent in 2024 so far.
The struggles Stellantis has faced in the U.S. as of late are well documented, prompting the automaker to admit that it may axe some of its non-profitable brands in the future, while also offering a voluntary separation program to some of its salaried U.S. workforce from the vice president level down. Additionally, the automaker reportedly nixed plans to build a new mid-size pickup recently despite that being part of its new master contract agreement with the United Auto Workers (UAW), which prompted the union to mull its options in that regard.
Comments
Hopefully, the first of MANY shoes to drop amidst all this absurd industry overpricing. But Stellantis has been the worst offender for a while now. I mean, a Renegade starting at $30K was probably the biggest laugh of all.
I agree with SCEcoboost. Stellantis is charging insane prices. No one is willing to pay such high prices, especially with the poor quality they are turning out. Look at the Compass. POS dates back to 2007 and it shows. They want over $30K for that thing. Crazy. I own a Renegade in addition to my Maverick. My Renegade is a mid range model and i paid $21K for it in 2017. Now they want $33K for the same thing? nuts.