The United Auto Workers’ targeted strikes against three assembly plants will hit car makers — and customers — where it hurts. Each of the struck factories builds some of the companies’ bestselling models.

What You Need To Know

  • The United Auto Workers began targeted strikes at three factories Friday: a GM plant in Wentzville, Mo.; a Ford plant in Wayne, Mich.; and a Stellantis plant in Toledo, Ohio

  • GM's Wentzville factory makes the GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado

  • Ford's Wayne, Mich., plant makes the Ford Bronco and Ford Ranger

  • The Stellantis factory in Toledo, Ohio, makes the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator

General Motors’ Wentzville plant in Missouri builds the GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado, which make up 20% of the midsize pickup truck market in the U.S.. Stellantis’ Toledo, Ohio, Assembly Complex produces the Jeep Wrangler SUV and Gladiator pickup, while Ford’s Michigan assembly plant in Wayne produces the Ford Bronco SUV and Ranger pickup.

UAW workers at the three factories began striking at midnight, following two months of negotiations between the union and the Detroit auto makers that failed to yield a new contract. UAW President Shawn Fain said Thursday night the union could expand its strike to other factories at a moment’s notice “to keep the companies guessing” and to give union negotiators “maximum leverage and flexibility in bargaining.”

As the strike continues, shoppers for GM vehicles are likely to feel the most immediate impact, according to the AI-assisted car shopping app, CoPilot, which tracks online inventories at dealerships across the country in real time. The GMC Canyon already has some of the lowest inventory levels at dealerships, with just 29 days supply.

Chevrolet and GMC vehicles had five of the top six spots for vehicles with the lowest supplies days before the strike began, according to CoPilot. The Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Trax and GMC Yukon all have about a month’s supply.

Dealerships also have just a 30-day supply of the Ford Ranger.

On the other hand, it could be months before Stellantis customers feel a significant impact from the strikes. The Jeep Wrangler has 102 days of supply and the Gladiator 161 days.

Automakers typically target 60 days as ideal supply. If a strike lasts one to two weeks, the Big Three will lose just a quarter of their supply overall.

"It's pretty painless," iSeeCars.com executive analyst Karl Brauer told Spectrum News.

But if a strike drags on for a month, or if the strike widens to affect the Ford-150, Chevrolet Silverado or Ram 1500 pickup trucks, which are the top three best-selling vehicles in the U.S. and most profitable for their manufacturers, Brauer said "the pain goes the other way big time and it costs them."

The longer a strike lasts, the more likely it is the Detroit Three automakers will begin to lose market share to foreign car companies. 

"You don't want to drive people away from a Ford Equinox to a Honda CR-V and think it's nice," he added. "If you were a diehard American buyer and had no option but to go outside of that, you're a potentially lost future customer."