ZEROSUM "STATE OF THE DEALER" REPORT: 6 IN 10 VEHICLE MODELS RISE IN PRICE, AUGUST SALES PROJECTED TO DROP TO 1.1 MILLION UNITS

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Aug 06, 2025, 09:00 ET

New-vehicle Inventory Falls to 2.84 Million Units; Used-Vehicle Inventory Rises for Fifth Consecutive Month to 1.95 Million Units

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Aug. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Although overall Average Marketed Price (AMP) dropped for new vehicles in July, 6 in 10 New-vehicle models rose in price, and August sales are projected to drop to 1.1 million units. The findings are part of ZeroSum's August 2025 "State of the Dealer" report.

Vehicle sales are projected to drop in Aug. 2025.

The AMP for new vehicles fell to $49,400 in July but has already crept up by more than $400 in the first five days of August to $49,842 Dealership sales remained robust in July as overall vehicle movement was 1.16 million units. However, vehicle sales have been driven largely by pull-ahead demand as car shoppers searched for affordability prior to anticipated tariff-related price increases. That demand is likely to dissipate in August, with vehicle movement projected at 1.1 million units.

"Milder-than-expected tariff-related price increases enabled the perpetuation of strong movement results in July," said Josh Stoll, Vice President of Dealer Success at ZeroSum. "While 6 out of 10 models have seen their Average Marketed Prices go up in the last month, the magnitude of those increases was not as pronounced as what was feared. Still, there is risk in the marketplace coming from continuing global trade uncertainty and the effect it is likely to have on future prices and production."

New-vehicle inventory in July fell to 2.84 million, down from 2.87 million in June. It was the fourth consecutive month new-vehicle inventory remained below 3 million units. Meanwhile, used-vehicle inventory grew for the fifth consecutive month, hitting 1.95 million units. It is the highest Used-vehicle inventory level since Dec. 2024 (1.96 million).

"With the longer-than-expected strength in the New vehicle sector, used vehicles are coming under some pressure," said Stoll. "A gradually increasing supply and flat demand picture is resulting in a drag on Turn Rates and longer Days-to-Move in the current period. Additionally, the recent run-up in pricing has begun to stall out a bit. But the ongoing risks in the new vehicle space still point to the potential that the current dynamics for Used are more of a pause than a reversal in momentum."

ZeroSum provides cutting-edge inventory-based market intelligence and digital advertising solutions tailored to dealers. The State of the Dealer report is the first and premier data source for the new, used, and certified pre-owned automotive markets.

Click here to download ZeroSum's entire State of the Dealer Report, including vehicle movement, turn rate, days-to-move, inventory, and pricing trends for new, used, and certified vehicles.

About ZeroSum

ZeroSum, an Advance Automotive company, is an industry leader in software, digital advertising, and market intelligence data. Powered by its SaaS platform, MarketAI, ZeroSum is simplifying and modernizing automotive marketing by leveraging artificial intelligence, market data, and scalability to acquire new customers. ZeroSum is the first and only company that matches consumer demand with automotive data in real-time for dealer marketing efficiency. For more information, visit www.zerosum.ai

About Advance Automotive

Created in 2017, Advance Automotive is a portfolio of automotive, technology, marketing, data, and software businesses providing AI-driven marketing solutions in the automotive industry. Advance Automotive includes independently operated agencies, ZeroSum, Adpearance, and Search Optics, as well as affiliate solutions from Cloud Theory and Hoot Interactive. Advance Automotive is part of Advance Local, a key unit of Advance, a privately held company founded in 1922.

Advance's portfolio of exceptional companies includes: