The Car Brands Most In Demand This Year
New vehicle sales were down by 25% in January of 2025, according to numbers supplied by Cox Automotive. But that’s not actually as bad as it sounds; new-vehicle sales always slow at the start of a new year before picking back up as winter comes to a close and tax refunds start trickling in.
Of course, the cars and trucks from some automakers are in higher demand than others, even when the market is in a slow cycle.
One way to measure an automaker’s relative health is by calculating how many unsold vehicles are currently in inventory and available to be sold. This is often listed in the number of days’ supply, and it’s up around 26% on average so far this year, which coincides with the overall sales slowdown in January.
Car brands with the lowest number of days’ supply of new vehicle inventory: |
|---|
1. Lexus: 39 days |
2. Toyota: 40 days |
3. Honda: 65 days |
4. Acura: 78 days |
5. Volkswagen: 79 days |
6. Kia: 82 days |
7. Subaru: 82 days |
8. BMW: 84 days |
9. GMC: 86 days |
10. Chevrolet: 93 days |
The average supply across all automakers selling cars in the United States stands at 96 days. The total inventory of all new vehicles ready to be sold comes to 2.92 million, and the average list price for those vehicles is $48,637. That sum is down 2.5% from December of 2024 and is very close to the average transaction price in January of $48,641.
Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, Kia, and Hyundai sold the most cars through January, and of those brands, only Ford and Chevrolet have the largest available inventories. Around 63% of Ford’s inventory is leftover from 2024, which could lead to some favorable deals for buyers willing to drive home in a new car from the previous model year.
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Growing up in a family obsessed with performance and as the son of an automotive engineer, Jeremy Korzeniewski has spent his entire life as a car enthusiast. Also an avid motorcyclist, Jeremy has spent the last two decades writing about the transportation industry and providing insights to many of the largest automotive publications in the world.
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