Buick has the highest inventory levels of any of GM’s four main brands during the month of June 2023, with more than 100 days supply of new vehicles on dealer lots. A 60 days supply is considered to be a theoretical optimum by the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA) and market analysis firms.
While elevated, the Buick new inventory level indicated by Cox Automotive research is actually dropping relative to previous months, especially the winter months of late 2022 and early 2023.
Via Cox Automotive
The Tri-Shield had 140 days supply in December 2022 and 120 days supply in February 2023, Buick had approximately 105 days of inventory last month. Classified as a luxury brand by Cox, Buick was one of four brands with the highest overall inventory, with Jaguar, Lincoln, Infiniti as the other three brands with 100 days supply.
The automotive sector as a whole was running at 53 days supply during June. Lower priced vehicles continue to register below-average inventory levels, with 31 days supply of new vehicles at the $20,000 price point and below. Vehicles costing $80,000 or more are at approximately 60 days supply. Those priced in between have higher inventories, between 62 and 72 days on average.
Sales shot up 20 percent year over year compared to June 2022, as “individuals and businesses that could not find their product or a price they were willing to pay last year” took advantage of newly increased availability, according to Cox economist Charlie Chesbrough.
Prices increased somewhat for the whole automotive market, rising by 3 percent in June. However, for the luxury sector where brands like Buick operate, average prices dipped, though this is partly an artefact of Tesla’s deep price cuts, with the EV maker discounting its vehicles by approximately 11 percent in 2023’s first half.
The modest growth in overall prices, which is keeping pace with the current U.S. inflation rate, indicates strong sales have been matched by robust production. At the same time, bigger incentives are being offered, reaching the levels seen last in 2021. The average June incentive was 4.2 percent of the average transaction price (ATP).
Incentives are higher for luxury vehicles such as Buick, with the average in the luxury segment topping the charts at 7.4 percent of ATP. EVs registered the next highest incentives at 7.1 percent of new vehicle ATP. Luxury vehicle sales accounted for 18.8 percent of U.S. market share for June, up from May’s 18.4 percent.
U.S. auto market June inventory ended the month at 1.95 million new vehicles, reaching a level last seen in April 2021. Relative to June 2022 this number rose by 835,000 vehicles, an increase of 75 percent.
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Comments
Maybe it’s the $1500 on star package they’re trying to force down everyone’s throats or Maybe made in Mexico, china and Korea is a problem. The US built Enclave is $50k so that rules out lots of customers. My wife was looking at Buick but I’m not paying the $1500 or buying a crossover made in China.
Maybe it’s because GM reduced the bumper to bumper warranty and the powertrain warranty on Buicks, Maybe it’s the mandatory onstar package or maybe it’s because GM has been trying to exist on Buick Legacy for as long as they could, and the product line just isn’t there anymore. Very Sad.
Huh? Buick has a great reliable, quality and beautifully designed product line, selling quite well, and making buckets of cash for GM.
Jeff G: I don’t see at all how you are reading tony’s comment and then saying what you said. Nowhere do I see where tony said anything about quality and reliability. And “beautifully designed product line” is certainly in the eye of the beholder. IF you like SUV’s and IF you like the new front end styling and IF you wish to blend in with everything else on the road, then what you say about the design could be correct. But from my angle, there is zero in the Buick line that I would buy today. The incoming Envista, although ICE, would be the only Buick I’d consider but only in the Avenir trim (to get a fully painted car). If I squint hard enough, the Envista looks more like a sedan hatch than a crossover. But I don’t see myself ever going back to ICE as my daily driver, so again Buick is out for me.
Why buy a Buick CUV/SUV when you can go to any dealer and buy that same thing? What incentive does anyone have now to buy a Buick over anything else? And according to this article, that’s with higher incentives than average.
Luxury? You really have to squint to see that. How many luxury brands are building three cylinder rickshaws?
Older sedan drivers moved on.
These “Days of Supply” numbers seem dubious at best; maybe regional. Looking at local inventory levels at various dealers, while they have some vehicles on the lot, there is no way these numbers are accurate. In fact, most local dealers messaging in their advertising is asking customers to come in and either order or reserve a new vehicle.
I would have no issues buying a Buick, perhaps an Enclave, but dealers aren’t discounting. Perhaps if Buick dealers started discounting they could reduce this alleged aging inventory.
Buick is the division that should have been put out to pasture ,they should have kept Oldsmobile …!
Should have kept Pontiac!
GM should have retired BOTH Olds an Buick and KEPT Pontiac. …but with their G8 & GTO, it was stealing too much thunder from Chevrolet.
PONTIAC was the Warrior of their brands, SACRIFICED to satisfy the boring bean counters.
If you want rear wheel drive V8 power, you can only choose Camaro or Corvette, buy a truck or pay the huge badge tax of a Cadillac!
My 2012 Lacrosse loaded with more luxury features than Mercedes Jaguars and BMWs I have owned (yes I’m over 60) is running well.
And my wife’s 2020 Encore which is up for lease end replacement will probably be replaced with another Buick is a quiet and well built vehicle.
1) I’m extremely pissed that Mary Barra torpedoed the Chevy Volt. Instead of fine tuning the hybrid technology and easing the customer “into the pool” of EV world if that’s where we’re headed, she instantly alienated a boatload of potential customers.
2) The ridiculous amount of trim levels with all these different price points is a joke. Make a “base” vehicle, a “loaded” vehicle w/ cloth, and then finally a “loaded” vehicle with leather and maybe AWD. That should be it.
3) FIX PAST DEFECTS! STAND BEHIND YOUR PRODUCT! MAKE IT RIGHT WITH THE CUSTOMER. I know a dozen people who were financially harmed by the Equinox / Terrain oil consumption issue and THEY WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER GM PRODUCT AGAIN……EVER! Yes, I know they did the recall, but there were still many owners that got screwed. Not only do you lose that particular customer, but you potentially lose the tens of people they know who are looking for a vehicle.
4) Find a way to lower these vehicle prices!! With fair, competitive pricing, the VOLUME of vehicles sold will increase the bottom line and equal things out.
I’ve driven GM vehicles all my life, but the way things are now, that may come to an end. Paying 5 to 7 hundred dollars a month for a new car note PLUS insurance and THEN you have to worry if the company isn’t going to stand behind their product down the road? That’s just insane crazy.
Buick has no vehicles of any real interest to anyone. Enclave is the best product and it’s worst in class. The cheap Chinese CUV is garbage. The only thing they seem to be selling is that tiny hatchback looking crossover thing, old people do seem to like those.
GM should just put Buick out to pasture and leave it for China.