While solid inventory figures for Ford and Stellantis are softening the impact of the UAW strike for the time being, several GM truck nameplates, including the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, continued to see restricted supply through September.
While the ever-popular Chevy Silverado still had 90 days supply remaining last month, the mid-size Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon were already down to just 29 days supply according to Cox Automotive research.
The GM Wentzville plant in Missouri that produces both the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon was targeted by a UAW strike starting in mid-September, disrupting production of both truck models. While GM may be making slow progress with recent new offers to the union, lack of new production will likely cause limited supply of the two mid-size pickups for some time to come.
Various other GM models also have a days supply in inventory figure well below the 60 days supply that the automotive industry usually considers optimal. These include some of The General’s most popular and profitable nameplates such as the Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Suburban, and Cadillac Escalade, all of which had 30 days supply on dealer lots in September.
The Chevy Corvette has the smallest available supply at dealers, with just 23 days worth of the high-demand supercar in stock. This limited supply likely has more to do with supply chain issues than the recent strikes, however, since hundreds of 2023 Corvette Z06 units were recently spotted parked in an outdoor lot at the GM Bowling Green plant in Kentucky, awaiting carbon fiber parts before completion, shipment, and delivery can take place.
Overall, GM has 60 days supply of vehicles on lots averaged out between its four brands, with the most absolute numbers of units available for sale since the 2020 outbreak of COVID-19. However, the other Big Three automakers have higher dealer inventory levels, making them better able to weather UAW strike disruptions. Most Stellantis brands such as Jeep and Dodge have inventories of more than 100 days supply, while the Ford brand has 88 days supply.
Foreign automakers are unable to take advantage of the UAW strike to gain market share because they also lack inventory for different reasons, the report says. Brands from Asia have particularly weak inventory levels, with Kia, Hyundai, Honda, and Toyota having low days supply available at U.S. dealerships.
Meanwhile, average new vehicle prices dropped slightly between the start of September and October to $47,397, though this price is 3 percent higher than average prices at the beginning of October 2022.
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GM will need another bailout soon. Their management sucks. Heads should roll.