Cars and Drivers

This Is the Hottest-Selling Used Car in America

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: April 29, 2022 9:30 am

The car industry in America is a mess. A shortage of the microchips used in electronics and navigation systems has shuttered assembly lines, hurt dealers and undermined manufacturer earnings. Because of the shortage, some cars are flying off dealer lots.

Car prices, both new and used, are among the fastest rising items in the consumer price index, well into the double-digit percentages year over year. Rising interest rates may complicate the car market further, as they will affect what car companies and banks charge car buyers for loans.

Among the likely consequences of these shortages is that people will keep cars longer. Last year, the average age of a vehicle on the road was over 12 years. Improved quality of manufacturing and product design has made it possible for people to keep cars with well over 100,000 miles on them.

Most experts believe the semiconductor shortage will last into next year. That means auto inventories will remain small.

One primary measure of inventory and car demand is what the industry calls “day to sell.” That is the period from when a car is delivered to a dealer to when it is sold and a customer takes possession. The figure for used cars across the industry was 52.9 days in March, iSeeCars reported. That was well under the average of the past few decades.

iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer commented: “Inventory constraints have persisted for new cars due to supply chain issues in Asia and Europe, and the new car market is struggling to keep up with pent-up demand.”

To find the hottest selling used cars in America, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the iSeeCars data on 150,000 new and used cars sold in March. The top 20 fastest-selling used vehicles averaged 35.0 days and sell, 1.4 to 1.9 times faster than the average used vehicle.

The trend toward the popularity of electric vehicles (EVs), which began recently, has not ended. Three of the 20 fastest-selling used cars were Tesla models. Several others were EVs built by the world’s largest manufacturers. This trend will continue if gasoline prices remain at over $4 for a gallon of regular. Consumers may be pushed toward lighter cars with smaller engines, and those that use no gas at all.

The fastest-selling used car is the Tesla Model X. This is the EV maker’s sport utility vehicle. Its average days to sell are a very low 28. Like many Tesla vehicles, it is very expensive, with an average price of $90,406.