The situation may be changing after some difficult years for inventory in the automotive world.
Baris Akyurek, who is the vice president of insights and intelligence for AutoTrader.ca, mentioned that the number of vehicles for sale on the website has been gradually increasing since August 2022, making up for the significant supply chain disruptions during the pandemic.
“Compared to the previous year, we have 78 per cent more new vehicles,” he said. “They’re still slightly below pre-COVID levels, but we are almost there.”
Akyurek stated that in Feb. 2019, there were 175,232 cars in inventory. Last month, he said there were 168,274 cars.
The situation is similar for used cars, he mentioned.
“Roughly 50 per cent of the time when a new car is sold, a used car is also sold along with it — it’s exchanged,” the VP said. Therefore, when new cars are sold, the number of used cars available for sale increases.
The increase in available vehicles has a positive effect on the wallets of buyers.
Akyurek mentioned that the highest new car prices were in Sept. 2023, when the average price was $67,817. “By the end of February last month, (they were) $66,979,” he said.
Regarding used cars, he said there has been a 2.1 per cent decrease compared to the previous year, with the average price at the end of Feb. this year being $38,451.
Along with the slight price decrease, there is also a decrease in interest rates.
“The peak was 6.2 per cent in November of last year, and at the end of last month it came down to 5.8 per cent,” Akyurek said.
