Automotive Supply and Demand Landscape Beginning to Stabilize Around a "New Equilibrium"

Underlying Metrics Still Point to Challenges as Days-to-Move Increase and Pricing Remains Under Pressure

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Feb. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The ZeroSum State of the Dealer Report is the first and premier data source for the new, used, and certified pre-owned automotive market.

ZeroSum's January data points to a stabilizing supply and demand picture across new, used, and certified, albeit with challenges on days-to-move and pricing metrics. These factors continue to point to a more competitive sales dynamic than was true when inventory was less available. New car inventory experienced a drop MoM, from 2.65 million units in December to 2.53 million in January. Vehicle movement has dipped to 1.03 million (from December's 1.10 million), and ZeroSum predicts that February levels will pull back further to 1.01 million.  

"January numbers always represent a bit of a breather after end-of-year support plays out and this year is no exception", said Jeff Englishmen, Vice President of Dealer Success at ZeroSum. "Once we get past January, it is likely that inventories will continue their climb in the first quarter, and flat demand will continue to put pressure on prices and sales cycles. It does appear, however, that market conditions may be beginning to solidify around a new equilibrium."

For the fourth straight month used car inventory stayed almost completely static at 1.91 million. Vehicle movement did increase to 1.18 million from December's 1.1 million, although ZeroSum is predicting that February movement falls back to 1.12 million, within the same narrow range we've seen from Used Cars for the past few months.  

"Dealers will be well served to ensure they take the appropriate steps to be competitive in this marketplace," says Dave Cox, COO of ZeroSum, "Days-to-move is increasing for both new and used inventory, matched by falling pricing. This makes having accurate, live VIN Intelligence essential in order to read the local market and help drive demand. Dealers need the right kind of marketing support for the right vehicles."

ZeroSum serves as a crucial resource for automotive dealers, offering indispensable data on supply and demand trends and delivering unprecedented insights on inventory and 30-day forecasts on vehicle movement. State of the Dealer answers the question that all automotive dealers are wondering: "Is it going to be harder or easier to sell a car next month?"

Click here to download ZeroSum's entire February State of the Dealer Report, including vehicle movement, turn rate, days-to-move, inventory, and pricing trends for new, used, and certified vehicles. 

About ZeroSum
ZeroSum is an industry leader in software, marketing, and data. Powered by its SaaS platform, MarketAI, ZeroSum is simplifying and modernizing automotive marketing by leveraging artificial intelligence, data, and scaling ability to acquire new customers. ZeroSum is the first and only company that matches consumer demand with automotive data in real-time for dealer marketing efficiency. For more information, visit www.zerosum.ai