Special Report

Cars So Hot They're Out of Stock

Steven Peters, Michael B. Sauter

Published: June 2, 2017 4:53 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 11:26 am

Americans bought 17.54 million cars and light trucks in 2016, yet another record and an all-time high. While not all cars sell equally fast, dealers cannot seem to keep some models in stock.

With data provided by Kelley Blue Book, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the average number of days vehicles sat on U.S. dealership lots before selling in 2016. Days to turn is often used to roughly reflect demand for certain models. It is not a perfect measure, as manufacturers can often simply produce too few units of a given model. Generally, however, many models with low days to turn have high demand.

While cars with high days to turn can sit on lots for over 150 days, most of the models on this list are sold within a month. The vast majority of these cars are SUVs, crossovers, or trucks, which have dominated U.S. auto sales in recent years.

Click here to see the cars so hot they’re out of stock.
Click here to see the detailed findings and methodology.

15. Jaguar XE
> Avg. days on lot: 36.1
> 2016 sales: 6,656
> 2015-2016 sales change: N/A
> Starting at: $35,725

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14. Mercedes-Benz GLE
> Avg. days on lot: 35.2
> 2016 sales: 51,274
> 2015-2016 sales change: +148.1%
> Starting at: $52,000

13. Fiat 124 Spider
> Avg. days on lot: 30.3
> 2016 sales: 2,475
> 2015-2016 sales change: N/A
> Starting at: $24,995

12. Subaru WRX
> Avg. days on lot: 28.4
> 2016 sales: 33,279
> 2015-2016 sales change: -1.3%
> Starting at: $26,995

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11. Toyota Highlander
> Avg. days on lot: 27.9
> 2016 sales: 191,379
> 2015-2016 sales change: +20.4%
> Starting at: $30,630

10. Toyota 4Runner
> Avg. days on lot: 27.5
> 2016 sales: 111,952
> 2015-2016 sales change: +15.4%
> Starting at: $34,210

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9. Subaru Forester
> Avg. days on lot: 26.5
> 2016 sales: 178,593
> 2015-2016 sales change: +1.9%
> Starting at: $22,595

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8. Mercedes-Benz GLC
> Avg. days on lot: 25.9
> 2016 sales: 47,872
> 2015-2016 sales change: +71.6%
> Starting at: $39,150

7. Subaru Outback
> Avg. days on lot: 25.8
> 2016 sales: 182,898
> 2015-2016 sales change: +20.1%
> Starting at: $25,645

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6. Subaru Crosstrek
> Avg. days on lot: 22.5
> 2016 sales: 95,677
> 2015-2016 sales change: +7.6%
> Starting at: $21,695

5. Honda Ridgeline
> Avg. days on lot: 22.0
> 2016 sales: 23,668
> 2015-2016 sales change: N/A
> Starting at: $29,475

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4. Toyota Tacoma
> Avg. days on lot: 21.7
> 2016 sales: 191,631
> 2015-2016 sales change: +6.7%
> Starting at: $24,320

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3. Audi Q7
> Avg. days on lot: 21.2
> 2016 sales: 30,563
> 2015-2016 sales change: +60.9%
> Starting at: $49,000

2. Honda Pilot
> Avg. days on lot: 20.6
> 2016 sales: 120,772
> 2015-2016 sales change: -11.3%
> Starting at: $30,745

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1. Jaguar F-PACE
> Avg. days on lot: 19.1
> 2016 sales: 10,016
> 2015-2016 sales change: N/A
> Starting at: $42,065

Detailed Findings & Methodology

Manufacturers use historical sales data to help determine production levels for each model. Long turnover times at dealerships can indicate demand is significantly lower than what the manufacturer predicted — either due to overly optimistic projections or waning interest from buyers.

Several of the fastest selling cars are relatively new to the market. Newer vehicles tend to have lower production levels until they have proven themselves in the marketplace. This is especially true for brand-new models. Three of the fastest selling cars on this list, including the F-Pace, the fastest selling car in America, were in their first year of production during 2016.

Speaking with 24/7 Wall St., KBB analyst Tim Fleming explained that these debut models simply have not been available long enough to accumulate available inventory or significant time on dealer lots.

SUVs and crossovers were the main drivers of industry growth in 2016, selling 486,000 more units than the previous year. In contrast, U.S. car sales declined by 650,000 during the same period. While cars accounted for 52% of auto industry sales in the U.S. in 2012, they accounted for just 39% of sale volume in 2016.

Several of the vehicles on this list will likely soon see days to turn regress to the industry average. In particular, days to turn among the debut models will increase sharply as manufacturers are able to ramp up production to meet demand. The Jaguar XE and the Fiat Spyder, both new this year, are in segments with low demand. Fleming noted that these two cars will almost certainly not be on next year’s list .

To determine America’s fastest selling cars, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed days to turn figures provided by Kelley Blue Book, a vehicle research and valuation site. The days to turn figure measures the average number of days a particular model spent on dealers’ lots until it was sold in 2016. Additionally, Kelley Blue Book provided figures on U.S. sales by model for 2014, 2015, and 2016. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) figures come from the manufacturers’ websites.