New and Certified Vehicle Movement Hit Three Year Highs

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Advance Local Media LLC d/b/a ZeroSum

Jun 03, 2024, 14:27 ET

Gains Are Fueled by Increased Supply Rather Than Higher Sales Efficiency

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., June 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ZeroSum, an automotive retail agency that provides cutting-edge inventory-based digital marketing solutions tailored to dealers, has released its June State of the Dealer report, its up-to-date and forward-looking assessment of the new, used, and certified automotive market. This month's report reveals that while vehicle sales are at multi-year highs, the selling environment for dealers will still come with challenges in June. The reality for an individual dealer is that there is greater competition that comes along with the wider alternatives that consumers currently have to choose from. For that reason, dealers should make sure that their inventory is being properly supported to ensure that it stands out in the marketplace.

All three vehicle sectors—new, used, and certified—point to sustained strength in vehicle movement. In the case of new and certified, these levels are the highest they have been in three years.

Improving new and certified vehicle inventory is giving consumers a wider variety of choices to purchase. New vehicle supply continues to move upward (2.89MM in May, up 2.8% from April), and 3.0MM is within the automotive industry's sights. Certified inventory hit its highest level since the earliest days of the pandemic in April 2020. Underlying metrics such as turn rates and days-to-move are settling in at sustained levels, indicating that the movement growth is being fueled by higher supply rather than increasing sales efficiency.

"The new vehicle movement count is very encouraging and points to a continuing resilience in the marketplace," said Jeff Englishmen, Vice President of Dealer Success at ZeroSum. "Even in the face of elevated prices and stubbornly high interest rates, consumers are still taking advantage of the improved availability that comes with strong inventory levels."

Used vehicle inventories ticked up slightly for the second straight month, though they have remained in a very narrow range since the Fall. Used vehicle movement shows signs of sustained strength, surpassing the 1.3 million mark for the second time in three months. The 30-day forecast for June points to a continuance of this trend at 1.29 million.

"The recent strength in used vehicle movement is a welcome development, but doing so in light of a flat inventory picture is even more impressive," said Englishmen. "The ongoing pricing differential with new cars is playing a role in used performance and is likely to continue to do so in the near future."

Despite the recent strength in the marketplace, this month's report points to continuing challenges for dealers in its overall conclusion. "The State of the Dealer report strives to address the question of whether it is going to get harder or easier for dealers to sell a vehicle in the next 30 days. At an overall industry level, the answer is 'easier,' though the reality for an individual dealer is that there is greater competition that comes along with the wider alternatives that consumers currently have to choose from."

Click here to download ZeroSum's entire June 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 Advance Local Media LLC d/b/a ZeroSum