Stock push is back in Europe. But this time, the market is tougher, tighter, and more uncertain, with registrations across Europe remaining below pre-Covid levels, and new entrants bringing more brands, which alongside weaker exports, has meant that the European continent has become a net importer of new cars.   

Clearly, the industry needs to focus again on competitiveness, and the new vehicle supply system is a key part of that.  

Taking the long view, real transformation is very much possible. In the 1980’s, an MIT-based initiative, the International Motor Vehicle Programme (IMVP), ran a global benchmarking and research network, that benchmarked the efficiency of new vehicle production plants, and which produced The Machine that Changed the World and Lean Thinking, publications that showcased and explained good practice, and which quickly became key texts in the automotive industry and beyond. Via a 1992 project that looked at centralised stock, ICDP was founded in 1994, by some of the same people involved in IMVP, in part to extend the question on how to deliver an efficient and effective new vehicle supply beyond production and the factory, and into sales and distribution. Since then, ICDP has both tracked and been actively instrumental via research and consultancy, in demonstrating good practice in new vehicle supply. Reform of the supply system has been proven to deliver results via combined actions in production planning, ordering, stock management, and incentives, and where stock push was demonstrably reduced by a carmaker in a market, all parties benefited, including dealers retaining more margin, carmakers reducing variable marketing, and more customers getting what they want. However, the industry has also long demonstrated a tendency to slip back from efficient, responsive, and effective supply, with stock push behaviour a default solution to difficulties in meeting market share objectives. Good practice is undeniably difficult to sustain, despite the islands of excellence that remain.  

 So, given that maintaining good practice has been so challenging to achieve, is it worth trying to minimise stock push? To a make the case for transformational change, key decision makers need to understand the size of the prize. With this research, we have gone back to basics and are asking the fundamental questions around the real cost of push – and the implications for carmakers, dealers, lenders, and logistics providers. We are updating our understanding of the true costs in today’s uncertain commercial environment and aim to put a value per car figure that can be broken down into elements that show the opportunities that exist for cost reduction, and perhaps, a rethink in end-to-end supply strategy. This webinar is the first output of this work and shall set the scope for the continuing investigation of the topic throughout 2026.  

If you would like to attend this webinar, please send an email to projectoffice@icdp.net and a Zoom invite will be sent to you.

Image: Bremerhaven, source Google Maps.