Chrysler inventories lower, still high

Chrysler inventories fell during its bankruptcy period, with all factories shut down, but were still high by import standards – and close to GM’s inventories. This data was provided by Automotive News, covers the United States, and was current as of June 1.

Overall, Chrysler ended the month with 86 days’ supply, or 260,400 vehicles. Dodge trucks were the most plentiful (97 days) followed by Chrysler cars (93 days), though since many truck sales are to fleets and there were few if any fleet buys during the shutdown period, those figures might be somewhat misleading. Dodge had 68,700 Rams in stock on June 1 – compared with 42,600 Doge cars and 63,900 Jeeps.

The largest inventory for a true Chrysler vehicle continues to be the PT Cruiser, with 158 days’ supply – beaten only by the Mercedes-built Sprinter. The lowest supply of a currently produced vehicle was for the Challenger, at 28 days (2,900 units); it was followed by Wrangler, with 38 days. Durango and Pacficia continue to be sold down, with just 500 Pacificas left and 2,800 Durangos, and 1,500 Aspens.

A plentiful supply of minivans remains in the U.S. (though Canadian supply is said to be constricted), with 16,000 Caravans and 18,800 Town & Countries.

The effects of closing dealers’ fire sales will likely not be seen in these figures. Days’ supply must be taken with a grain of salt since sales were artificially depressed by lack of fleet sales, and increased by people hoping to get a bargain from bankruptcy and those dealers which were able to sell off vehicles at low prices before June 1.