New vehicle inventory at Buick dealerships continued to decline in March 2024. The month ended with 76 days supply, dropping sharply from the 119 days supply the Tri-Shield brand’s dealers had on the lot in January.
This means that at the current rate of sales, there is enough Buick inventory on dealer lots to last for 76 days. The U.S. auto market overall had 72 days supply at the end of March, versus 79 days supply at the end of February, as reported by Cox Automotive.
The fall from 119 days supply to 76 days supply represents a significant clearing of backlog on dealership lots. Both carmakers and auto sector analysts usually consider an approximate 60 days supply to be the optimum level for most dealerships to have on hand. Several factors are likely contributing to the sharp drawdown in Tri-Shield inventory.
One likely cause is that production of the 2024 Buick Enclave ended in late February, while production of the 2025 Buick Enclave is scheduled to kick off on June 17th, 2024. This leaves a gap of several months with no new units arriving to restore inventory. Similarly, the refreshed 2024 Buick Envision won’t launch until summer 2024, providing a second reason why days supply might have decreased so much in just two months.
Despite the major fall in days supply, Buick still has one of the highest inventory levels among GM brands. GMC also has 76 days supply, while Chevy has 69 days supply, and Cadillac has 63 days for March.
While automakers are building and shipping more vehicles, sales volume is keeping inventory levels from rising strongly. At the end of March and the start of April, 2.77 million new vehicles were in dealer inventory in the United States. This number is a whopping 46 percent higher than the number of units in inventory at the end of March 2023. However, the figure is up only slightly from the end-of-February stock of 2.74 million vehicles.
While prices are still high and affordable vehicles are in short supply as automakers continue to focus on high-level trims and luxury models, Cox projects that 2024 new vehicle sales may rival those of pre-pandemic 2019.
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Comments
There is a dramatic lack of quality inventory that people would like. The scarcity of any desirable color and interior combinations leaves most women and men frustrated. There are faer too many white, black and gray vehicles and not nearly enough red, blue, and green options.
Randy is absolutely right. I wanted a dark blue or burgundy color and found neither.
Green………please! Buick always had at least one or two great green coloring offerings. Chevrolet and Cadillac currently have greens, time too (and once again) for Buick!
Don’t forget mostly all black interiors.
The Whisper Beige color brightens the vehicles interior, giving it a more spacious and airier feel vs. the gloomy all black interiors (this applies to all vehicles). It’s a good option, for the owner who likes clean vehicles.
Randy you are right on the mark. People are tired of white, black, silver and gray. Inventory management is a weak link at most dealerships. There is a joke that many of those who order the inventory must still be watching a black & white TV. More than likely it is a lack of imagination and copycat mentality. When I was a Buick District Manager I used to say that a dealer who has a balanced inventory, good imagination in ordering and display and at least a moderately competent salesforce will sell more vehicles and at a higher margin than a dealer with a great salesforce and a poorly balanced inventory. The few dealers who can put together and maintain a great inventory, marketing practices and a great salesforce will dominate their competitors. People will go where there are choices over places that only offer quantities of the same old thing.
Need more exterior color options…..period
I am quite happy with my Buick Investa Avenoir. It is the perfect size for what I need. Easy to drive. Shorter than my
LaCrosse. No SUV for me. I want a car. But it does have a hatchback. Great car for the young. But also great for the mature.