ZeroSum "State of the Dealer" Report Points to Elevated Pricing and Used Vehicle Pressure as Key Factors
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Feb. 6, 2025 -- The average time it takes to sell a new vehicle jumped by five days to a five year high of 80. Additionally, new vehicle movement is projected to drop from 1.07 million units in January to 1.03 million units in February. These marketplace dynamics point to automotive retailers' Used and Certified Used vehicle sales as a higher priority for success this month.
The findings were part of the monthly "State of the Dealer" report released today by ZeroSum, an industry leading provider of software, data and marketing automation services to the automotive industry.
New Vehicle Days-to-Move Reaches Five-Year High, Marketed Price Remains Elevated
New vehicle Days-to-Move reached 80 days in January 2025, an increase from 60 days in January 2024 and up from 75 days on a month-over-month basis. It is the highest average Days-to-Move in the past five years. Although New vehicle marketed prices saw a seasonal drop to $49,500 in January, consumer costs remain elevated and have hovered at or near $50,000 throughout 2024 and into the new year.
"We are at an interesting crossroads in the new vehicle sector," Stoll said. "Existing market dynamics have already kept prices higher than one might expect, given the current supply and demand picture, and North American tariffs have the potential to push them up even more. And, with the days-to-move trend hitting multi-year highs, additional pricing pressures on consumers could exacerbate an already challenging sales environment for dealers."
Used Vehicles: Supply Steady, Prices Down
Used vehicle inventory remained steady at 1.96 million from December 2024 to January 2025, while Used vehicle movement increased by 100,000 units. This resulted in an increase in Turn Rate—from 57% in December 2024 to 62% in the current month. Used prices continued a steady year-long descent, falling to $25,600 from $27,400 in December 2023, which is helping to fuel movement of these vehicles but also putting pressure on the new vehicle market.
Certified used vehicle inventory dropped from 219,000 to 210,000 but remained above 200,000 for the fourth consecutive month. Certified used vehicle prices averaged $37,000, $2,000 less than their peak in August, and Turn Rate in this sector also increased by 7 points to 82%--the first time that figure has been above 80% since September 2024.
In both Used and Certified, Days-to-Move did experience increases—up 3 and 2 points, respectively.
"The used vehicle sector is a bit of a mixed bag as the year kicks off," said Josh Stoll, Senior Director of Dealer Success for ZeroSum. "Vehicle movement saw some resilience, but the increase in days-to-move also points to some friction in the marketplace. Dealers may benefit from turning their attention to this market segment in the coming weeks with used vehicle prices continuing to come down."
About ZeroSum
ZeroSum is a leader in software, marketing, and data. Powered by its SaaS platform, MarketAI, ZeroSum is simplifying and modernizing automotive marketing by leveraging artificial intelligence, data, and scaling ability to acquire new customers. ZeroSum is the first company that matches consumer demand with automotive data in real time. For more information, visit www.zerosum.ai.
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