Automotive Movement Leaps to Highest Level Since 2021

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Apr 03, 2024, 11:45 ET

New, Used, and Certified Vehicles All Grow by Double Digit Percentages

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ZeroSum, an automotive retail agency that provides cutting-edge inventory-based digital marketing solutions tailored to dealers, has released its April State of the Dealer report. The ZeroSum State of the Dealer report is the first and premier data source for the new, used, and certified pre-owned automotive market.

Average new vehicle inventory reached 2.76 million in March.

New vehicle inventory levels continue to climb, edging up by 3% on a month-over-month basis. But the overriding story from March is the vehicle movement picture, which hit its highest count in almost three years. A 28% MoM jump puts this figure at 1.25M, the most since May 2021.

The 30-day forecast for April shows a relatively small decline back down to 1.20M, which is still substantially higher than the range that has been in place for more than a year. ZeroSum notes that underlying metrics still point to stable dynamics on other fronts, with days-to-move and average pricing staying within recent ranges.

"Rising inventories have led dealers and OEMs to be more aggressive with incentives and transaction prices, and it is great to see that this is leading consumers back into the market", said Jeff Englishmen, Vice President of Dealer Success at ZeroSum. "But stubbornly high interest rates may put the brakes on how far this can go, and it is likely that there will be some volatility in balancing supply and demand in the short term."

Used vehicle inventories declined by 4% on a month-over-month basis, falling below 1.9M for the first time since October 2023. The cause of this decline is the rapid increase in used vehicle movement in March—which was up by 17% from February's results to 1.44M. This number is forecast to fall back somewhat in April, but is also estimated to be above its recent range. Average marketed price rose for the first time since May 2023.

"Similar to new vehicles, used vehicles had a very strong showing in March after the seasonal rebound experienced in February" said Englishmen. "A second month of growth points to a more sustained trend, though it is expected that the rise will not necessarily be a straight line upward."

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 April 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

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SOURCE ZeroSum