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 Units	Days supply Oct. 1, 2007	Days supply Sept. 1, 2007
300	24,200	65	67
Crossfire (I)	700	36	50
PT Cruiser	13,000	53	34
Sebring	23,900	99	87
Chrysler Div. car (D)	61,000	71	60
Chrysler Div. car (I)	700	36	50
Total Chrysler Div. car	61,700	70	60
Aspen	5,000	32	54
Pacifica	10,600	63	84
Town & Country	20,100	58	56
Total Chrysler Div. trk.	35,600	53	62
Total Chrysler Division	97,400	63	60
Avenger	18,100	54	80
Caliber	20,900	82	58
Charger	11,600	31	45
Magnum	3,500	24	81
Viper	-	25	702
Total Dodge car	54,200	49	60
Caravan	20,600	50	53
Dakota	12,800	76	84
Durango	8,500	74	84
Nitro	28,200	100	111
Ram	111,300	92	93
Sprinter	4,300	71	53
Total Dodge trk.	185,700	83	86
Total Dodge	239,800	72	79
Commander	15,200	84	72
Compass	13,800	121	106
Grand Cherokee	29,200	70	66
Liberty	17,100	62	75
Patriot	19,700	116	90
Wrangler	18,500	54	46
Total Jeep trk.	113,500	76	70
Chrysler LLC car (D)	115,200	59	60
Chrysler LLC car (I)	700	36	50
Total Chrysler LLC car	115,900	59	60
Total Chrysler LLC trk.	334,900	76	77
CHRYSLER LLC	450,700	71	72
Source: Automotive News Data Center