The car industry should be having a banner year. Demand for new cars has skyrocketed, due at least in part to pent-up demand because dealers were closed over portions of the nearly two years the COVID-19 pandemic has plagued the United States. Sales, however, have hit a wall — and the slowest-selling car of all is the Acura TLX.
A shortage of semiconductors — needed to run the electronic and navigation systems of cars — has shuttered assembly lines at major manufacturers. Karl Brauer, an executive analyst for
iSeeCars, an automobile search engine, commented that “Production halts and restricted inventory continue to beset the auto industry, but we did see an incremental improvement this past month.”
One metric used by the industry is called “average days to sell.” This measures the time from when a car reaches a dealer from the manufacturer until that car is driven away by a customer. This figure normally runs between 50 and 60 days. By October, the number had dropped to 32.
For some cars, the number was much smaller. The figure for the Kia Seltos — a compact sport utility vehicle that carries a low price of about $27,000 — was 7.7 days as of October, according to an analysis by iSeeCars of 250,000 new and used cars sold that month. (These are America’s cheapest cars.)
The Acura TLX, on the other hand, had stayed at dealers for an average of 165 days as of October. The TLX is a sports sedan, a category currently out of favor with consumers. Additionally, Acura, which is part of Honda, has been among the poorest-selling luxury car lines in America, overshadowed by Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, and Audi. (It does get fairly good reviews, however: Car and Driver rates it 8.1 out of 10, and U.S. News gives it a grade of 8.6 out of 10.)
Click here to see the slowest-selling cars in America
Americans have shifted their buying patterns from sedans to SUVs, crossovers and pickups in the past decade. Among the 20 fastest-selling vehicles in October, nearly all were SUVs or crossovers. (These are the fastest-selling cars in America right now.)
20. Mercedes-Benz GLB
> Average days to sell: 63
> Average price: $48,122
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19. Buick Encore GX
> Average days to sell: 64.3
> Average price: $28,987
18. Ford Ecosport
> Average days to sell: 66.7
> Average price: $25,510
17. Jeep Renegade
> Average days to sell: 68.5
> Average price: $26,968
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16. Maserati Levante
> Average days to sell: 69.8
> Average price: $101,053
15. Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
> Average days to sell: 70
> Average price: $28,493
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14. Genesis G80
> Average days to sell: 73.1
> Average price: $58,146
13. Nissan Murano
> Average days to sell: 78.6
> Average price: $41,789
12. Mercedes-Benz C-Class
> Average days to sell: 78.7
> Average price: $49,050
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11. Alfa Romeo Stelvio
> Average days to sell: 80
> Average price: $52,069
10. Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
> Average days to sell: 80.8
> Average price: $25,836
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9. Jeep Compass
> Average days to sell: 81.5
> Average price: $29,503
8. Nissan Titan
> Average days to sell: 81.9
> Average price: $54,767
7. Nissan Altima
> Average days to sell: 83.3
> Average price: $29,200
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6. Cadillac XT5
> Average days to sell: 84
> Average price: $53,592
5. Jeep Cherokee
> Average days to sell: 84.7
> Average price: $34,366
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4. Chevrolet Equinox
> Average days to sell: 92.8
> Average price: $30,326
3. Alfa Romeo Giulia
> Average days to sell: 101.9
> Average price: $46,926
2. Infiniti Q50
> Average days to sell: 127.4
> Average price: $48,846
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1. Acura TLX
> Average days to sell: 164.9
> Average price: $45,890
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