Vehicle brand inventory by days of supply in the U.S. 2023

As of November 2023, it would have taken over

days for the Jeep vehicle stock to run out in the United States, with sales remaining constant. The brand was followed by Infiniti, which counted some days of supply. By contrast, Toyota and Honda recorded the lowest supplies, at and days of supply respectively.

Supply and demand

The issue of supply and demand in the automotive industry during the last few years has been nothing but dynamic. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer needs shifted and there was a sharp drop in light vehicle sales. Although sales increased from

million in 2020 to million units in 2023, they were still below pre-pandemic levels. During this period, motor vehicle production had almost fully recovered from pre-pandemic dips, reaching about million units in 2023. The light vehicle sales do not account for all motor vehicles sold, and even then, as both sales and vehicle production rose, production still could not account for all the rising demand. This is further indicated by an inventory-to-sales ratio of about in the U.S. automotive industry at the start of 2023. In the face of production disruptions and shifting consumer desires, alternatives such as electric vehicles have gained popularity.

The allure of electricity

Prior to the pandemic in 2020, there were already many concerns regarding the CO₂ emissions caused by motor vehicles. As of 2023, the share of the transportation sector in the overall CO₂ emissions of the US was greater than any other source. Further after the pandemic in 2020, gas prices began to climb. Due to the mounting pressures, the popularity of electric vehicles began to grow, shifting motor vehicle production to cater to this increased popularity. This is seen in ever increasing global electric vehicle sales.