Forbes, that Number One purveyor of "Top 10" lists, has devised a list of the ten hardest-to-get cars. They've based their selections on dealer inventory levels and retail turn rates (how long a model sits on the lot before it's sold). While some of the selections are obvious (anyone try to buy a Prius lately?), who would expect the 14mpg Lexus LX to be in short supply? The other two anomalies (considering gas mileage and purchase price) are the Audi A5 and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, both of which are selling faster than they can build them. Here's the entire list and supply level of each model:
Toyota Prius – 7-day supply
Lexus LX Series – 8-day supply
MINI Cooper – 8-day supply
Audi A5 – 8-day supply
Toyota Yaris – 13-day supply
Scion xD – 19-day supply
Honda Fit – 20-day supply
Honda Civic – 21-day supply
Toyota Corolla – 23-day supply
Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 29-day supply
Wow…I can understand the C and B segment cars in this lineup but the Benz and A5?
I think a reason for the Lexus LX being in short supply was intentional on the part of Lexus only building these trucks in limited numbers. They’ve been on sale and I’ve yet to see even one of these trucks on the road down here in da MIA.
I’ve seen a LOT of C-class benzes already, more than I saw BMW’s 3-series at the same time after their launch. I found that very impressive. It must be said it’s a really handsome car.
Beside that, incredible how fast the market is changing! Long live gas prices, I say.
Well that’s odd, none of the cars are built by either of the Detroit companies. GM claimed that they could have sold 40000 more 4 cylinder cars in June if they had enough supply. Maybe the Aveo and Cobalt are #11 and 12 so they just missed the list. But I doubt it.
Oh boy! I get to be the first to make the obvious joke:
How can the Tesla not be at the top of this list!? Can there be a negative day supply?
I would assume this is based on end of June inventories and June sales rate? Because there were several Detroit cars with less than 30 day supply going into June, including the Focus (21 days) and Escape Hybrid (10 days).
Since I purchased a MINI I feel the need to point out that most owners are on a waiting list for MONTHS before their car is delivered. Does that 8 days start when it shows up or is it the odd car ordered by the dealer that gets sold?
People like the looks of the new C. And it is the smallest, most economical gas Benz. So no real anomaly there.
I heard some local radio host talking about this list as the “best selling cars” right now. He was trying to argue that the economy is great and gas prices aren’t hurting if the Lexus LX is hot selling. Ha ha!
while i understand questioning the Mercedes C-class on the list, i have to agree with the placement on the list. our C’s sell very well here in the great northwest.
I believe the MINI supply is a little misleading, trtl. So many of the MINI’s are sold custom compared to other vehicles that it doesn’t really compare.
OTOH, I see zero clubmans on the road, but there are several on the lots. I wonder if they are ready to make deals yet?
Our local Mini dealer (only one serving most of Atlanta) has zilch for Clubmans on the lot… regular minis go very fast too. You pretty much *have* to custom order, just to get one.
Oh, and all you haters that didn’t like the four stars I gave the xD? Yeah, take *that*.
I think I can explain the A5:
* It’s a new car, so there is some initial extra demand
* It looks awesome!
* Compared to other $40k cars available in the USA, the mileage isn’t bad
Now if only Audi would get around to giving us the 2.0T engine with variable timing, this car could be flying off the lots.
I predict that the new A4, which I believe will have the 2.0T engine available from product launch, will be a hit also.
My local Toyota dealer has NO Corollas in stock, NO Camrys in stock, NO Camry Hybrids in stock, NO Yarises in stock and finally got in one pre-sold Prius. The guy who sold me my 2005 Prius (9 1/2 month waiting list – to be fair, I wanted a particular option group and was more than willing to wait) and who sold me my 2008 Prius (first one in town last September, 2 week waiting list) told me that Prius had a 6 month waiting list, and that was about 2 weeks ago.
Could be 9 months, by now, for all I know.
Hence, this is why I think Toyota sales are down.
You can’t sell what isn’t yet built and sent to the dealer.
Note the corrolation between low “days supply” and high demand. I suspect that the real situation on the Prius is virtually 0 days supply, if the actual distribution of the vehicles could be evened out to better reflect where people are waiting on cars.
I think I read that nationally, the Prius is on a two week waiting list “on average”, but this could be changing by the minute.
Brettc: “Maybe the Aveo and Cobalt are #11 and #12 on the list”
That’s like me saying I am #51 on People Magazine’s “50 Sexiest Men Alive” annual edition.
adam0331: “I heard some local radio talk show host arguing the economy is good and oil prices aren’t hurting”
Where was he broadcasting from, Dubai?
What? Yukon Denali Hybrid is not on the list? I am shocked, shocked, I tell you.
I’m surprised that the Buick Enclave and the Chevrolet Malibu aren’t on that list. They’re pretty elusive cars.
Funny that people say that Toyota can’t keep up with demand, which is why the Prius is hard to get hold of. Because it’s the same reason why the Mini Cooper is hard to get hold of. They’re only built in Cowley, UK.
One factory + High global demand = Long waiting list.
Wasn’t there a recent TTAC article about why the LX was hard to find?
I wonder what the C-Class and A5/S5 sales figures will look like once you differentiate between a lease and a purchase.
This is not true in my area.
There are 29 Fits, 5 Priuii, 12 Mini’s (reg,.S, Clubman), 35 Civics,
32Corrollas, all you have to do is go to Cars.com and perform a search.
wouldnt the ‘hardest to get’ be the Ferrari F430 Scuderia and a few Lambos? Its not just that there is only a 7 day supply, there is a multi-year wait
kjc117 :
I wouldn’t put much faith in cars.com. From my experience they always have outdated listings.
The Lexus LX is newly redesigned. Lexus sales are very “streaky”, in that new models sell like gangbusters and are impossible to find, but the sales of the older models fall like a rock. Sales were up 230.2% in June (not a typo).
In any case, having five of the top ten hardest to find cars, as in Toyota’s case, is the type of problem you want to have. That is, if your product is sold out, you screwed up by not building more, but that’s a whole heck of a lot better than having it pile up like trash bags during a garbage collector’s strike.
trtl5000 :
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:59 am
Since I purchased a MINI I feel the need to point out that most owners are on a waiting list for MONTHS before their car is delivered. Does that 8 days start when it shows up or is it the odd car ordered by the dealer that gets sold?
What it means is that they take all the vehicles of a given model in dealer’s inventory and, by the published sales figures, figure out how many days it would take to sell them. That is, if there are 10,000 of a given model sitting on dealer’s lots somewhere in America, and they sold 20,000 of them last month, they would have a 15-day supply of that model. Likewise, if there were 60,000 of that same model on dealer’s lots, there would be a 90-day supply (or so; assuming a 30-day month here).
Now, what I’m not sure about is whether or not that includes vehicles technically owned by a dealer but still in transit from the factory. I suspect it does, which means that actual supplies are lower than these numbers, as in zero or damned close to it for at least the top four models (IE, all or almost all dealers have waiting lists for those models).
Why doesn’t the Nissan Versa sell more?
Why doesn’t the Nissan Versa sell more?
I find it aesthetically challenged compared to the competition, and Nissan just hasn’t got the name that Honda and Toyota do anymore.