In 2019, a study shows that the most popular car colors in the world are white, black, and gray. That’s how it has been for almost the past decade. While red and blue are becoming more popular in the U.S. according to the same study, it looks like American car buyers won’t have much of a choice in the months to come.
According to a study conducted by Cox Automotive on vAuto Available Inventory data, inventory levels are on a new low, citing 2.33 million units of total unsold new vehicles in the U.S. at the end of July 2020. In comparison, there were 2.55 million units at the end of June, while July 2019 posted 3.12 million units by the end of the month.
With these said, an average of 62 days’ supply can be found in dealerships at the end of July, which is down from June’s 70 and July 2019’s 79.
What does this mean for you as a car buyer? This could mean many things, but one of those would be a leaner choice when buying a car. According to Cox Automotive senior economist Charlie Chesbrough, with a marketplace thin with inventory supply, a car buyer might have less chance of getting a car with the color or trim of their choice.
Moreover, the publication also reported that 2021 models are almost non-existent in dealerships, citing that only 0.5 percent of the current inventory of unsold new vehicles are 2021 models
Toyota and Lexus suffered the least inventory level last month with 34.4 and 35.3 days’ supply. Subaru isn’t far off at 38.5, while BMW has the least inventory level among luxury automakers at 43.6. On the other end of the spectrum, Fiat, Mitsubishi, Buick, Lincoln, and Jaguar all have over 100 days’ supply.
