Subaru No Longer Has The Fewest Number Of New Cars To Sell

Until last month, Subaru of America had the tightest supply of new models to sell to its customers. This year, the 2022 Subaru Forester, Outback, and Crosstrek models have been nearly impossible to find. A report from Automotive News says research from its Automotive News Research & Data Center and Cox Automotive says as of April 1, Subaru of America had the tightest supply of any automaker, at four days.

The latest Automotive News report (by subscription) says Honda now has the tightest supply and is down to just a three-day supply as sales dropped more than 40 percent in April for American Honda. AN says Honda began April with about 18,000 vehicles on dealership lots and entered May with only 12,235. "There were only 11 new Honda vehicles on the ground at the average store and a three-day supply," said Mike Kistemaker, assistant vice president of sales for the Honda brand.

photo credit: Patrick Subaru

How much does Subaru offer for customer incentives?

Subaru of America has historically had the lowest incentives of any automaker. In April, SOA offered customers a $922 incentive or rebate per vehicle in 2022. That was down 31 percent compared with April 2021 ($1,328), according to TrueCar data. Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, and Subaru have customer discounts well below $1,000.

How does Subaru's new car pricing compare with last year's?

Like all automakers, Subaru of America's new car pricing has increased. In April 2022, SOA's average new car price was $34,775. The average price in April 2021 was $31,213, up 11 percent. TrueCar says the industry average new car price is up 15 percent from last year.

photo credit: new Subaru vehicles delivered to Patrick Subaru

When will Subaru's new model inventory return to normal?

President of America's operations and global vehicle forecasts for LMC Automotive, Jeff Schuster, says," The industry is still far from 'normal' assembly levels. Stabilization of microchip supplies may not emerge until the second half of 2022, and lost production recovery efforts may only start in earnest in 2023."

Subaru customers still wait for new models to arrive, but the Japanese automaker no longer has the lowest inventory of new SUVs like the 2022 Forester, Outback, and Crosstrek. The distinction now goes to Honda.

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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: Patrick Subaru