The Fastest-Selling New and Used Cars in August

• The Hyundai Santa Cruz debuts as the fastest-selling new vehicle; newly released Ford Bronco also makes debut
• New cars are selling over a week faster than in July, while used cars are selling slightly faster
• Toyota/Lexus vehicles account for six vehicles on the fastest-selling new vehicle list, followed by Hyundai-Kia with five vehicles
• Alternative-fuel vehicles are well-represented on both fastest-selling new and used car lists

Analyzing over 900,000 new and used cars sold in August 2021, iSeeCars.com found that overall, the average new car takes 26 days to sell and the average used car takes 34.6 days to sell. New cars are selling over a week faster than in July, where the average was 35 days, and used cars are selling slightly faster compared to 35.4 days compared to the same period last month.

“The microchip shortage is showing no signs of slowing down as major automakers continue to halt production, leading to lower and sometimes scarce inventory levels, especially for the most in-demand vehicles,” said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. “It looks like car buyers who were initially waiting for prices to drop have embraced the reality that inventory shortages are here to stay, at least for the next several months.”

Fastest-Selling New Cars

Four additional models from the Hyundai-Kia automotive group joined Santa Cruz to make the list, including the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid, the Kia Seltos, the Kia Telluride, and the Kia Carnival. “The popularity of the recently released Hyundai Tucson Hybrid and the Kia Carnival shows the public perception of Hyundai and Kia vehicles has evolved, from being budget-oriented to competing with more premium mainstream cars and even luxury brands,” said Brauer. “Demand for the Kia Telluride has outpaced supply since its 2019 launch, and its average new car price of $45,001 exceeds its MSRP of $32,190 to $44,390.” 

The Chevrolet Corvette moved down a position after being July’s fastest seller. “Demand for the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette has exceeded supply since its launch for the 2020 model year,” said Brauer. “Dealers stopped taking orders for the 2021 model year in March, and demand remains so high the model consistently sells for over MSRP, with an average price of $89,788 compared to its MSRP range of $59,900-$78,850.”

The Ford Bronco makes its debut on the list. “Demand for the new Bronco was so high Ford stopped taking reservations in late August,” said Brauer.  “Ford had over 190,000 reservations for the Bronco upon its debut, and the automaker had to delay production due to issues with the vehicle’s hardtop supplier, which exacerbated the already long wait.”

Two full-size luxury SUVs with average new car prices just below $100,000 make the list: the Mercedes-Benz GLS and the Cadillac Escalade. “Mercedes-Benz recently cancelled production of V8 vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz GLS for the 2022 model year due to the chip shortage, which increased demand for the 2021 model,” said Brauer. “The Escalade was redesigned for 2021 to make the premium SUV even more luxurious and technologically advanced, helping it dominate the full-size SUV segment as it captures over half of the segment’s market share.” 

An additional luxury SUV, the Land Rover Defender makes the list. “Jaguar-Land Rover was hit hard by the microchip shortage, causing the automaker to halve its sales forecast for the third quarter,” said Brauer. “The Land Rover Defender is a high-demand model that has drawn long waitlists for interested buyers.”

Five Toyotas and one vehicle from its Lexus luxury division make the list, with hybrid vehicles accounting for three models. The non-hybrid vehicles include two SUVs: the midsize 4Runner and the compact RAV4, as well as the Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. The hybrid vehicles include the Toyota Sienna minivan, the Lexus RX 450h midsize SUV, and the Toyota Corolla Hybrid compact sedan. “Toyota, which already had one of the lowest inventories of any major automaker, had to cut production in August due to the chip shortage,” said Brauer. “Hybrid vehicles have surged in popularity and have grown in sales faster than electric vehicles, and consumers have embraced the hybrid versions of Toyota’s popular cars and SUVs.”

Three Subarus make the list: the Crosstrek subcompact SUV, the Forester compact SUV, and the WRX sporty compact car. “Subaru reported the shortest supply of new cars of any automaker in August,” said Brauer. “The Crosstrek and Forester are two of Subaru’s most in-demand models, and the WRX saw a sales increase over 2020 amid its reduced supply.”

Rounding out the list is the GMC Yukon full-size SUV. “The GMC Yukon has been in high demand, and despite idling production of full-size pickups, GM maintained production of the Yukon by building it without chips and parking the incomplete models,” said Brauer. “The Yukon saw a 126 percent increase in sales during the first half of 2021 compared to last year, and continues to be a hot seller.”

Fastest-Selling Used Vehicles

Seven hybrid vehicles make the list: the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, the Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight, the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, the Lexus RX 450h, the Toyota Prius Prime, and the Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. “Just like in the new car marketplace, Toyota hybrid vehicles are hot sellers due to their reliability and advanced technology,” said Brauer.  “The Honda Clarity debuted in 2018, while the Honda Insight debuted in 2019, so used versions are just now becoming available and are in high-demand.”

Five sports cars and performance cars make the list, including the BMW 4 Series, the Volkswagen Golf GTI, the Mazda MX-5 Miata, the BMW 2 Series, and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. “Sports and performance cars were popular throughout the pandemic, and their popularity has continued as consumers have a heightened desire to make purchases that bring them joy,” said Brauer.

Three small SUVs make the list including the compact Mitsubishi Outlander, the compact Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, and the Fiat 500x. “These small SUVs do not achieve favorable reliability ratings, but likely resonate with consumers because of their affordability, with the 500x and the Eclipse cross having the lowest average used car price of all used SUVs,” said Brauer.

Fastest-Selling Cars By City 

 “As demand continues to outpace supply for new cars, consumers should act quickly if they see their desired vehicle for sale, and buyers may have to be flexible on color and trim options for in-demand models,” said Brauer.  

Methodology

iSeeCars.com analyzed over 900,000 new and used car sales (model years 2016-2020 for used cars) from August 2021. The number of days that each car was listed for sale on iSeeCars.com was aggregated at the model level, and the average days on market for each was mathematically modeled. Heavy-duty vehicles, models no longer in production prior to the 2021 model year, and low-volume models were excluded from further analysis.

About iSeeCars.com

iSeeCars.com is a car search engine that helps shoppers find the best car deals by providing key insights and valuable resources, like the iSeeCars free VIN check reports. iSeeCars.com has saved users over $309 million so far by applying big data analytics powered by over 25 billion (and growing) data points and using proprietary algorithms to objectively analyze, score and rank millions of new cars and used cars.