Chrysler inventories fall as of October 1, 2008

Despite a severe drop in sales, Chrysler inventories have fallen from 93 to 85 days’ worth of vehicles, higher than most other automakers but shrinking as others grow. Ford had 97 days of inventory (up from 82 one month ago) and GM had 60 days (down from 64 one month ago).

Thanks to single-shifting at Sterling Heights (which has been on overtime for several weeks), the Avenger and Sebring had reasonable inventory figures of 64 and 50 days, respectively (Toyota’s average stockpile across all vehicles is 30 days; Honda’s is 60 days.) This equates to roughly 23,000 cars. The Charger, Challenger, Caravan, and Town & Country also had fairly trim inventory figures.

In sharp contrast to these vehicles were some formerly hot sellers. There were over 100 days’ supply of PT Cruisers, Aspens, Pacificas, Dakotas, Durangos, Nitros, Sprinters, Commanders, Compasses, Patriots, and Wranglers, with 98 days’ supply of Grand Cherokees and Libertys. The largest vehicle in inventory by a good margin is the Wrangler, with 35,000 sitting around in lots across the country; it had been a hot seller until fuel costs rose. Jeep may be assuming that more Wranglers will fly off the lots if there is a bad winter with cheap gas.

There were 81 days’ supply of Dodge Rams as of October 1, or a whopping 70,000 units to push out the door before the 2009s hit the ground. The 2009 Ram is such a compelling vehicle that Dodge dealers may have some serious problems getting rid of their existing stock.

Of interest is the wild variation in days-supply figures from September 1 to October 1, which appears a bit more extreme for Chrysler than for most other mainstream brands. Sales figures have been fluctuating rapidly with models rapidly falling in and out of favor without consistent patterns. In some cases the issue may be fleet orders being altered or dropped.

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