Subaru Just Improved Its New Model Inventory Efficiency, Says A New Report

Is Subaru of America's inventory levels of 2023 Subaru Forester, Crosstrek, Outback, and other new models improving? According to a new report from Automotive News (by subscription), Subaru of America saw the most significant improvement in new model inventory efficiency, climbing 8.4 points in May. The data comes from Cloud Theory, which provides automaker's comprehensive efficiency data.

Automotive News says Cloud Theory's "inventory efficiency index" assigns scores to vehicle makes based on active inventory and sales data compared to competitors. A score below 100 indicates supply is outstripping demand, while a score above 100 suggests the vehicle sells more efficiently than average.

photo credit: Tucson Subaru

Before COVID hit automakers hard with microchip and parts shortages, Subaru ranked number one in efficiency among all U.S. automakers, with a score of 169.6 in 2019. In 2020 Subaru slipped to number three overall with a score of 130. In 2021, Subaru dropped to seventh place in the U.S. with a score of 112.

In 2022 Subaru climbed one spot to sixth with a score of 132, but still down 46.2 percent. But Subaru of America saw the most significant improvement in new model inventory efficiency of any automaker in America, climbing 8.4 points in May.

photo credit: Tucson Subaru

In an interview with Automotive News, new Subaru of America (SOA) President and CEO Jeff Walters gave further information on new model inventory levels this year.

Walters says, "Our production is improving. For the first time in a few years, Subaru Corporation is coming back to us and adding units back into our plan, and that hasn't happened for quite a while, so that's been good for us."

Subaru of America has not seen inventory levels above eight or nine percent for the past two years. However, when asked about the ongoing parts shortages and challenges, he says things have improved significantly since 2022.

Walters says, "At this point last year, we'd wrap up a month and have 5,000 or 6,000 cars on the ground across our 639 retailers, less than ten cars each, on average. We're wrapping up the month with 20,000 to 23,000 cars. It's still only an average of 35 cars per store, but it feels like much more. It's still incredibly lean, though. The retailers are doing a great job, being very efficient with the inventory and the car lines, which are all still moving along very well for us."

The improved inventory is showing up in its sales.

After a long dry spell in the last two years, Subaru is finally returning to normal. Subaru of America did it again in May with another sales increase. SOA reported a sales increase last month, continuing the upward trend in 2023. Subaru says sales were up 28.2 percent in May, the tenth consecutive month of month-over-month sales increases for the Camden, N.J. automaker.

Subaru of America's inventory levels is improving. Automotive News reports SOA saw the most significant improvement in new model inventory efficiency, climbing 8.4 points in May. Look for new Subaru Forester, Crosstrek, Outback, and other new model inventories to improve.

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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report, where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Photo credit: Tucson Subaru