Despite a decline in U.S. car sales in 2019 compared with 2018, sales exceeded 17 million for the fifth year in a row. In early 2020, some analysts predicted that sales this year would fall below 17 million — and that was before the coronavirus pandemic ground the economy to a halt.
When travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders begin to lift, automakers and dealerships will no doubt hope buyers will rush to buy new cars. And based on 2019 figures, some models will likely be in much greater demand than others.
One way to measure demand for vehicles is to look at the average number of days a car sits in a dealership lot before being sold. Car pricing and data company Kelly Blue Book provided 24/7 Wall St. with this data for 2019 in the U.S. market. We reviewed the 25 models that spent the fewest days on average in dealer inventory before being sold. On average, across all models sold in 2019, cars sat on dealers’ lots for 80 days. All the cars on this list sold on average in less than 53 days. All car sales data were obtained from Kelly Blue Book. Base price either came from manufacturer websites for the most recent version of the vehicle.
These 25 highly in-demand models generally fall into one of a few categories, and often several of these categories at once. Matching a long-term auto buying trend in the U.S. most of the cars on this list are crossover SUVs, which have remained highly popular for years as full-size sedans have struggled to find favor.
Also, Americans want either redesigns of long-popular models — such as the Subaru Forester, which dealerships began to sell at the end of 2018 — or brand new model nameplates, such as the Kia Telluride or the Hyundai Palisade. This is a list of the cars that have been completely redesigned for 2020.
Click here to see the cars so hot they’re out of stock
Click here to see the cars Americans don’t want to buy
25. Lincoln Navigator
> Avg. days on lot: 52.1
> 2019 sales: 18,656
> 2018 sales: 17,839
> Base price: $76,185
> Parent company: Ford Motor Co.
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24. Acura RDX
> Avg. days on lot: 51.6
> 2019 sales: 62,876
> 2018 sales: 63,580
> Base price: $37,800
> Parent company: Honda Motor Company
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23. Lexus NX
> Avg. days on lot: 50.0
> 2019 sales: 58,715
> 2018 sales: 62,079
> Base price: $36,870
> Parent company: Toyota Motor Corp.
22. Subaru Outback
> Avg. days on lot: 49.3
> 2019 sales: 181,178
> 2018 sales: 178,854
> Base price: $26,645
> Parent company: Subaru Corp.
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21. Subaru Impreza
> Avg. days on lot: 48.7
> 2019 sales: 66,415
> 2018 sales: 76,400
> Base price: $18,695
> Parent company: Subaru Corp.
20. Volvo XC40
> Avg. days on lot: 48.2
> 2019 sales: 17,706
> 2018 sales: 12,349
> Base price: $33,700
> Parent company: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group
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19. BMW X5
> Avg. days on lot: 47.7
> 2019 sales: 54,595
> 2018 sales: 45,013
> Base price: $58,900
> Parent company: BMW Group
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18. Audi TT
> Avg. days on lot: 44.5
> 2019 sales: 1,324
> 2018 sales: 1,273
> Base price: $45,500
> Parent company: Volkswagen Group
17. Toyota C-HR
> Avg. days on lot: 43.3
> 2019 sales: 48,930
> 2018 sales: 49,642
> Base price: $21,295
> Parent company: Toyota Motor Corp.
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16. Mercedes-Benz A-Class
> Avg. days on lot: 40.7
> 2019 sales: 16,561
> 2018 sales: none
> Base price: $32,800
> Parent company: Daimler AG
15. Audi allroad
> Avg. days on lot: 39.3
> 2019 sales: 1,143
> 2018 sales: 2,520
> Base price: $
> Parent company: Volkswagen Group
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14. Toyota RAV4
> Avg. days on lot: 36.4
> 2019 sales: 448,068
> 2018 sales: 427,168
> Base price: $25,950
> Parent company: Toyota Motor Corp.
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13. Toyota Supra
> Avg. days on lot: 36.0
> 2019 sales: 1,921
> 2018 sales: none
> Base price: $49,990
> Parent company: Toyota Motor Corp.
12. Cadillac XT6
> Avg. days on lot: 35.5
> 2019 sales: 11,559
> 2018 sales: none
> Base price: $57,095
> Parent company: General Motors
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11. Subaru Ascent
> Avg. days on lot: 34.7
> 2019 sales: 81,958
> 2018 sales: 36,211
> Base price: $31,995
> Parent company: Subaru Corp.
10. Jeep Gladiator
> Avg. days on lot: 34.0
> 2019 sales: 39,924
> 2018 sales: none
> Base price: $33,545
> Parent company: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
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9. BMW X7
> Avg. days on lot: 33.2
> 2019 sales: 21,574
> 2018 sales: none
> Base price: $73,900
> Parent company: BMW Group
8. Audi e-tron
> Avg. days on lot: 33.1
> 2019 sales: 5,369
> 2018 sales: none
> Base price: $74,800
> Parent company: Volkswagen Group
7. Subaru Crosstrek
> Avg. days on lot: 28.5
> 2019 sales: 131,152
> 2018 sales: 144,384
> Base price: $22,145
> Parent company: Subaru Corp.
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6. Audi Q3
> Avg. days on lot: 25.7
> 2019 sales: 14,805
> 2018 sales: 16,828
> Base price: $34,700
> Parent company: Volkswagen Group
5. Lincoln Aviator
> Avg. days on lot: 24.8
> 2019 sales: 8,323
> 2018 sales: none
> Base price: $51,100
> Parent company: Ford Motor Co.
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4. Subaru Forester
> Avg. days on lot: 21.2
> 2019 sales: 180,179
> 2018 sales: 171,613
> Base price: $24,495
> Parent company: Subaru Corp.
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3. Hyundai Palisade
> Avg. days on lot: 18.7
> 2019 sales: 28,353
> 2018 sales: none
> Base price: $31,775
> Parent company: Hyundai Motor Group
2. Mercedes-Benz G-Class
> Avg. days on lot: 16.5
> 2019 sales: 7,348
> 2018 sales: 3,970
> Base price: $130,900
> Parent company: Daimler AG
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1. Kia Telluride
> Avg. days on lot: 13.0
> 2019 sales: 58,604
> 2018 sales: none
> Base price: $31,890
> Parent company: Hyundai Motor Group
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