Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Chrysler sits on high inventories

Only select vehicles could be in short supply

Richard Truett
Automotive News
October 10, 2007 - 11:17 am ET DETROIT -- The UAW walkout at Chrysler LLC won’t immediately hurt the company’s vehicle supply, but dealers could run out of four-door Wranglers and 2008 minivans if the strike drags on.

A look at Chrysler’s inventory shows that plenty of other vehicles are in stock or in the dealership pipeline.

Only two critical vehicles are below the industry’s benchmark 60-day supply level: the Jeep Wrangler and the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans.

On Oct. 1:

  • Chrysler had a 54-day supply of Wranglers. It is unclear how many of the 18,500 units in inventory are the four-door version, which has been flying off dealer lots this year.

  • The Dodge Grand Caravan had a 50-day supply, but some of those could be previous-generation models. Total units at dealerships or on the way were 20,600.

  • There was a 58-day supply of Chrysler Town & Country minivans, or 20,100 units.

    Several other Chrysler vehicles had less than a 60-day supply on Oct. 1, but they are models that carry heavy incentives or are low-volume performance cars, such as the Dodge Viper and Chrysler Crossfire.

    Some analysts said today that a strike might help Chrysler whittle down bloated inventories of such vehicles as the Jeep Compass and Patriot and the Dodge Nitro, all of which have more than a 100-day supply.

    Chrysler has idled six plants this week to reduce inventories.


  • Chrysler U.S. light-vehicle inventories, as of Oct. 1
    Inventory UnitsDays supply Oct. 1, 2007Days supply Sept. 1, 2007
    30024,2006567
    Crossfire (I)7003650
    PT Cruiser13,0005334
    Sebring23,9009987
    Chrysler Div. car (D)61,0007160
    Chrysler Div. car (I)7003650
    Total Chrysler Div. car61,7007060
    Aspen5,0003254
    Pacifica10,6006384
    Town & Country20,1005856
    Total Chrysler Div. trk.35,6005362
    Total Chrysler Division97,4006360
    Avenger18,1005480
    Caliber20,9008258
    Charger11,6003145
    Magnum3,5002481
    Viper-25702
    Total Dodge car54,2004960
    Caravan20,6005053
    Dakota12,8007684
    Durango8,5007484
    Nitro28,200100111
    Ram111,3009293
    Sprinter4,3007153
    Total Dodge trk.185,7008386
    Total Dodge239,8007279
    Commander15,2008472
    Compass13,800121106
    Grand Cherokee29,2007066
    Liberty17,1006275
    Patriot19,70011690
    Wrangler18,5005446
    Total Jeep trk.113,5007670
    Chrysler LLC car (D)115,2005960
    Chrysler LLC car (I)7003650
    Total Chrysler LLC car115,9005960
    Total Chrysler LLC trk.334,9007677
    CHRYSLER LLC450,7007172
    Source: Automotive News Data Center

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