Following the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, new vehicle inventory levels shrank – a product of the fact that automotive production was shut down for a while, coupled with strong demand from consumers. Automakers struggled to return this particular situation to normal, a process that took years, and for months afterward, inventory levels swelled to new heights. Now, however, The Blue Oval’s inventory levels are returning to normal, but Ford Vice Chair John Lawler remains cautious, regardless.
“I think we’re back at equilibrium and we’re getting to the point right now where supply is – it’s not constrained any longer,” Lawler said at the Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conference. “I think when you step back and look at it, there’s a – the market in Europe, I think there’s a little bit more pressure in Europe than there is here in the United States. So far, the consumer has held up pretty well. Pricing has held up.”
“Inventories I think are back to the point where we need to be very thoughtful as an industry about the production versus demand and then the supply that’s in the marketplace. So, we’re watching that very closely. We’re still targeting to be somewhere between 50 and 60 dealer days supply. New vehicles that we have out there are turning very quickly.”
As Ford Authority recently reported, Ford inventory levels have been on the decline as of late following months of increases – which, for a while at least, placed the automaker among the top in the industry in that regard. As of the most recent data from May, the Ford brand had an 85 days’ supply of inventory – down from well over 100 not too long ago – while Lincoln has also shed considerable inventory, tumbling all the way down from a 127 days’ supply in March to a mere 86 days in May.
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