For all the talk of low inventories, and cars and truck dealerships tacking
” market changes” on top of MSRP, there were nearly a.
half-million systems of remaining 2022 model year vehicles still.
Advertised for sale in the United States heading into the.
weekend of December. That is on top of the 2023 automobiles that have.
been arriving on dealer lots.According to S&P Global Mobilitys analysis of United States dealership.
advertised inventory information, mainstream brands Ford, Chevrolet, Ram,.
and Jeep had about 300,000 units of 2022 designs advertised as.
available for sale the week ending December 4. Those 4 brands.
account for 71% of 2022 marketed inventory listed by mainstream.
brand dealers – and 66% of all dealer-advertised inventory when.
consisting of high-end marques.Among high-end brand names, Mercedes-Benz and Lincoln still showed the.
most remaining 2022 vehicles in dealership promoted inventory,.
according to the S&P Global Mobility analysis.While most car manufacturers generally alleviate off production in late.
summer to transition to the new model year, and clear out the last.
of their old designs by Christmas, specific automakers really have.
seen their 2022 stocks increase in October and November.” Model year discipline has receded,” stated Cheryl Woodworth,.
seeking advice from associate director for S&P Global Mobility. “With.
the chip scarcity, stock control is not as meticulous as it.
used to be.” Is running old stocks into the new design year a bad thing?
It can be for automakers, but it could spell retail relief for.
consumers. With 22 models bring the stigma of being “older” -.
even if the 2023 design is unchanged – that can indicate dealers are.
incentivized to burn out the zero-miles 22s.” The longer you wait to change over your model year, the more it.
hits your recurring worths in regards to harder grading,” Woodworth.
said.Some dealers are offering below-MSRP discounts on vehicles that.
carried sticker-price-plus Monroney labels just months before. And.
with customer demand waning due to external economic forces such as.
inflation and recession-related layoffs, the pressure to move the.
metal increases.Usually, the inventory arc for each design year follows a.
predictable curve, peaking in spring as production strikes its stride,.
and after that coming down in summer during the annual selldown and the.
model year transitions in September and October. But supply chain.
chaos has made it impossible for some car manufacturers to follow.
tradition.That said, with certain aspects of the supply chain still in.
flux, it might make good sense for manufacturing connection to continue.
constructing 2022 designs if a 2023 minor model change includes a part.
that is not readily available, Woodworth said.In November, Ford was still delivering 2022 Escapes to.
dealerships from its Louisville factory, as the 2023 small design.
change is still ramping up. The exact same continuation of late.
production 22 designs uses to the Ford Bronco Sport and Lincoln.
Corsair, which share a number of their foundations with the Escape.
platform.Remaining 2022 units are typically particular to specific designs. In.
the marketplace for a high-end SUV? The designs with the greatest remaining.
2022 design year systems are the Mercedes-Benz GLC and Lincoln.
Corsair.Why the excess 22 Mercedes GLCs? Its still waiting for a 2023.
freshening – the nationwide mbusa.com site still wasnt listing.
the 2023 as readily available on December 15 – and as such 2022 designs are.
still in strong supply. Among high-end brands, Mercedes had 33% share.
of remaining 22 designs still advertised the week ending December.
4, while Lincoln accounted for 22% share of remaining high-end.
22s. That stated, Mercedes dealers have actually done a strong task of selling.
down its 2022 inventories from mid-summer in anticipation of the.
23 design arriving. And other essential Mercedes volume designs – GLE,.
S-Class, and C-Class – are mainly represented by 2023 design.
production.Supply chain hiccups also are affecting inventories in other.
ways. 10s of countless so-called “ghost units” of the F-150 and.
Chevrolet Silverado have rolled off the assembly line but were.
missing out on essential parts, and have actually been collecting in parking area.
near their respective factories until they can be launched. On top.
of those unfinished units, Ford dealers had nearly as many F-150s.
promoted the week ending December 4 as they performed in August in.
September. When the ghost units lastly get their needed parts.
and go into wholesale inventory – Ford hopes it will happen by the.
end of December – that will add to the pressure to clear out the.
22 models at the dealer level.The combined black-swan occasions of COVID, semiconductor.
shortages, and the Russian intrusion of Ukraine interrupted.
conventional manufacturing and supply norms – the most recent downstream.
impact being the overrun of prior model-year production and.
inventory. How the market can recuperate to its regular cadence.
depends on its adaptability to these continued interruptions.

This post was published by S&P Global Mobility and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is an individually managed department of S&P Global.