The car industry has gone through a transformation, after nearly collapsing at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dealerships temporarily closed their showrooms because of the danger of the spread of the disease, long before vaccines were available. People stopped driving. There was nowhere to go. Offices and schools were closed, as were stores where people could shop. As 2020 drew to a close, the pent-up demand for cars and light trucks exploded. U.S. car sales could set a record this year.
The supply of new cars is low today. A shortage of chips built into car electric systems has caused manufacturers to cut back production. Dealers have trouble getting popular models.
One way the industry measures supply and demand is the number of days a car stays on a dealer lot, from when it is delivered until when it is sold. The figure, known as “average days to sell,” for May was a low 47 days. Part of the car industry has benefitted substantially. For some models, the period was much shorter. iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer commented, “For new cars, both higher priced full-size SUVs and alternative fuel vehicles continue to be in high demand, striking an interesting dichotomy between practical and not-so-practical consumers.”
However, some car models have languished on lots despite widespread demand. iSeeCars looked at over 1.3 million new and used cars sold in May 2021 to determine the days to sell figure. The model with the longest average days to sell is the Ford Fusion at 214 days. It is among the sedans Ford discontinued as it focused to pickups, crossovers and sport utility vehicles.
These are the 20 slowest-selling cars in America:
- Ford Fusion, 214.2 days to sell
- Honda Insight, 140.0 days
- Dodge Journey, 135.4 days
- Nissan Pathfinder, 123.2 days
- Cadillac XT4, 111.6 days
- Cadillac CT5, 108.5 days
- Cadillac CT4, 105.7 days
- Volvo S60, 103.7 days
- Ford Ecosport, 101.1 days
- Toyota Avalon, 100.2 days
- Chevrolet Trax, 100.0 days
- Chevrolet Malibu, 99.3 days
- Chevrolet Spark, 97.1 days
- Volkswagen Golf GTI, 94.5 days
- Jeep Compass, 92.5 days
- Ford Edge, 89.6 days
- Mazda CX-3, 89.2 days
- Mitsubishi Mirage, 87.2 days
- Mazda Mazda3 Hatchback, 84.7 days
- Nissan Versa, 84.5 days
Click here to read about the fastest-selling car in America.
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