Cars and Drivers

This Is the Fastest-Selling Car in America

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: October 13, 2021 11:33 am

People can’t buy cars in America. The shortage of new vehicles is extraordinary. Demand was pent up because shopping was difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic. Supply was hammered because of a shortage of semiconductors used in cars. That shortage has caused some of the largest car companies to shut assembly lines and has hit earnings hard. And the chip shortage could last until next year. The by-product of these factors is that car prices, both new and used, have skyrocketed.

One of the primary sets of data the industry follows is called “days on dealer lots.” In a normal car market, the number is around 50 days. That has dropped by about half recently to 24.6 days according to iSeeCars.

Commenting on the trend, iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer said: “Car buyers are willing to pay over MSRP for new cars and highly-elevated used car prices because they have embraced the reality that inventory shortages are here to stay for the next several months.”

To determine which cars have the fewest days on dealer lots in September, iSeeCars looked at 900,000 new and used cars sold during the month.

The Subaru Crosstrek had the lowest figure at 7.8. It is a relatively inexpensive crossover, with most of its models priced below $35,000. It bills itself as a compact sport utility vehicle. The popularity of SUVs, pickups and crossovers has risen sharply in the past decade, at the expense of sedans and coupes. Crosstrek gets high marks from car research companies and magazines. Motor Trend rates it 9.3 out of 10. Car and Driver rates it 8 out of 10.

The Crosstrek is followed by the unusually expensive super sports car Chevy Corvette. The Corvette can cost over $90,000. Another Subaru, the Forester, is in third place.

These are the average days on the lot for the 20 fastest-selling cars in America:

• Subaru Crosstrek (7.8)
• Chevrolet Corvette (8.6)
• Subaru Forester (9.5)
• Toyota Sienna (9.6)
• Toyota RAV4 (9.8)
• Toyota Highlander Hybrid (10.1)
• Cadillac Escalade (10.1)
• Toyota C-HR (10.2)
• Hyundai Tucson Hybrid (10.7)
• Toyota RAV4 Hybrid (10.7)
• Kia Seltos (10.8)
• Kia Telluride (10.9)
• Lexus RX 450h (10.9)
• Toyota RAV4 Prime (11.0)
• Toyota Corolla Hybrid (11.0)
• Kia Carnival (11.1)
• Toyota Tacoma (11.2)
• Mercedes-Benz GLS (11.2)
• Toyota 4Runner (11.5)
• Toyota Highlander (11.6)

Click here to read about the longest-lasting cars on the road.