Chrysler inventory at four months’ sales

Chrysler had 114 days of inventory on May 1, according to Automotive News, at current sales rates. The figures were roughly similar for each of the three brands; there were more days of inventory for cars than trucks (132 vs 109 days), though government figures and pundits repeatedly talk about how Chrysler’s problem is having too many trucks.

With minivan sales stalled in April, Caravan and Town & Country supplies seem especially high. There were 47,000 minivans in inventory in the United States on May 1, good for around 86 days if sales remained stable.

Overall, the highest supplies were of Mercedes imports – the Crossfire (300 vehicles being a 262 day supply) and Sprinter (4,700 units equating to over a year’s supply).

The largest domestic supplies (in terms of days) were of the Avenger and Sebring, which achieve decent gas mileage but have been savaged by the media. Under 13,000 Avengers equated to 242 days’ supply. Other vehicles with 200 days’ supply or more were the Compass and Patriot, which ironically provide good gas mileage for their size and niche. The 2009 Patriot has gotten numerous positive reviews .

These numbers were dwarfed by the Dodge Ram, with 83,500 trucks sitting on lots – but they are a quick seller so the supply, in days, works out to 121.

The vehicles in short supply are the Challenger, with just 5,400 on lots, the sold-out Magnum, the Wrangler (63 days or 22,500 units), and the Journey, with 87 days’ supply.

BMW, Hyundai, Subaru, and Toyota all had 60 or fewer days’ supply on their lots. Chrysler did have a smaller supply than Volkswagen and was similar to GM.