- The average car manufacturer starts 2026 with a 76-day supply of new cars to sell – about what they aim for.
- That average is made up of extremes, however, with one as low as 28 days and one as high as 143.
Automakers had too many cars to sell for most of 2025. In 2026, that’s still true of some. But the industry’s average inventory level has returned to something close to what companies traditionally intend.
Car companies measure their supply of new cars to sell in a metric they call “days of inventory” – how long it would take them to sell out of new vehicles at today’s sales rate if they stopped building them.
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Each car dealer learns its local community and develops its own targets. But an old industry rule of thumb tells them to keep about 75 days’ worth of vehicles – 60 on the lot and 15 more on order or in transit.
At that level, the logic goes, they likely have a combination of colors and features that appeals to each buyer in easy reach. Fewer means risking that the buyer will go elsewhere. More is expensive – dealers are typically making payments on the cars on their lots through a complex instrument called a floorplan loan.
The average automaker started 2026 with a 76-day supply of cars, according to data from Kelley Blue Book parent Cox Automotive.
Toyota at One End; Chrysler, Volkswagen at the Other
- Toyota and its Lexus brand keep their inventory tight on purpose.
- Several automakers are oversupplied, none worse than Chrysler and Volkswagen this month.
While the average is 76, some dealers still have few cars on hand and are less likely to offer discounts. Others have many, and will be looking to make deals to move cars off the lot this month.
Toyota and its Lexus luxury brand have the tightest inventory in the industry – 33 and 28 days, respectively. Those dealers know that, if you don’t pay the price they’re offering, they’ll likely find someone who will. But they may not have the car you want in stock.
That’s likely to grow more severe early in 2026, as the company expects to briefly run short of its best-selling RAV4. The company will stagger pauses at four factories as it reconfigures them to build an all-new 2026 version. Supplies will recover once all four factories are up and running with the new RAV4.
At the other end of the scale, Volkswagen dealers have an average 143-day supply.
Stellantis brands Chrysler, Jeep, and Ram also have more than four months’ worth on hand. But that company is adjusting its strategy, attempting to end an overstocking problem. The plan is beginning to show dividends, with Dodge dealers now under 90 days.
