LMC and JD Power said July was on track to be the ninth month in a row that US retail inventories closed below 900,000 vehicles. Kia, Toyota, Subaru, Honda, Lexus, Porsche, Hyundai, Land Rover, BMW and Acura had the lowest stockpiles in early July, Cox Automotive said, while Ram, Volvo, Jeep, Lincoln and Audi had the highest inventories. were levels.
Analysts say Japanese and Korean automakers, with greater exposure to supply chains in China, where COVID-19 restrictions have been largely eased but are still resonating, may see inventories recover well in the second half of the year. Will struggle to rebuild.
“There are a lot of headwinds against a significant improvement in sales volume,” said Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist at Cox Automotive. “Rising interest rates and low consumer sentiment are driving many potential buyers out of the market. At the same time, high prices for both gasoline and vehicles are making affordability an even bigger challenge. Tight supply, however, remains the biggest hurdle. is in the foreseeable future, and there is little evidence of supplies returning to normal.”