LAS VEGAS – Stellantis is promising its U.S. dealers it will reduce its inventory by one-third through incentives and by repricing several high-volume models, says Jeff Kommor, head of U.S. sales.
“We are going to bring it down by at least one-third,” Kommor tells WardsAuto after meeting with dealers during the recent National Automobile Dealers Assn. Show. “We committed to that.”
Stellantis is part of an industry trend toward higher inventory overall as the industry puts the new-vehicle scarcity of the past three years in the rearview mirror.
For the industry as a whole, inventory has recovered enough that transaction prices have been declining – although the average monthly price remains high due to high interest rates.
Kevin Farrish, chair of the Stellantis dealer council, says dealers are satisfied Stellantis is taking appropriate actions to lower prices and move the metal.
“The reality is, it was an item on our agenda to discuss,” he tells WardsAuto. “If your inventory starts to get a little long in the tooth, we need to move some out. We appreciate the commitment, and we look forward to seeing the various programs.”
Farrish is president of Farrish of Fairfax, with a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram store and a Subaru dealership in Fairfax, VA.
Cox Automotive reports that in December, the Chrysler and Dodge brands had at least twice the industry average days’ supply of 70 days. Jeep and Ram were also well above average. Days’ supply is an estimate of how long a given inventory would last at the current sales rate if it were not replenished.
Kommor says Stellantis already is well into taking pricing actions to stimulate sales. He says models representing the vast majority of the Jeep brand’s volume will see product repositioning and pricing actions.
Part of the Stellantis inventory build-up was done on purpose, Kommor says.
Early in 2023, Dodge introduced the concept of seven limited-edition “Last Call” versions of Dodge Chargers and Challengers, so called because the brand is phasing out internal-combustion engines from its performance-car lineup.
Dealers stocked up on “Last Call” models ahead of an all-electric Dodge Charger Daytona, which debuts later this year.
Farrish calls stocking up on the outgoing Charger and Challenger models “the last bite of the apple” before the all-electric lineup comes out.
Overall, he says dealers are appreciative of the Stellantis pricing actions. “There certainly was a need,” he says.
