Even with careful calculation it is impossible to reach 100% predict how many new cars will find their owners, because they are not produced to order from specific buyers.
Why aren't the cars selling?
Automobile manufacturers create a certain number of cars based on consumer demand, plant capacity, labor force and global economic trends. Companies need to improve models; approximately every two years they release updated versions of cars. Those who want to buy a car directly from the factory pay attention to them first. Others choose to buy used cars to save money.
Most car owners do not change their vehicle for several years - it is much more profitable to monitor the condition of the car on time and repair it. At the same time, manufacturers are not ready to sell outdated models en masse at large discounts; this will reduce the demand for current products. Dismantling last year's unsold cars is also unprofitable, so they all continue to wait for their buyer.
Discounts, promotions and sales
Now manufacturers are trying to protect themselves from overproduction and fulfill the quota for orders from dealer showrooms. In this case, dealers have to solve the problem of unsold cars. Unlike manufacturers, they launch promotions and discounts if the car is not sold for a long time. Car dealerships use such a concept as Yellow Stock, or “yellow production stock.” This is the minimum percentage that includes a car that was never sold. Including discounts and sales. As a rule, this is 1% of the total number of cars produced, but in times of crisis the number of “yellow” cars reaches 30% of the total number of cars produced.
Liquid cars are sold at auctions, through resellers in the trade-in system, or distributed at minimal prices among employees. It is expensive to rent or buy buildings for such a number of cars, so most of the cars are parked in orderly rows in street parking lots, which occupy huge areas.
New car parking
In 2014, the Internet was leaked from Google Maps satellites, which recorded large parking lots of new cars in different parts of the Earth. The runways intended for aircraft were occupied by cars. This photo is from Sheerness, UK.
And these are new cars parked tightly in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
A similar situation was recorded by a photographer in Russia, not far from St. Petersburg.
The public was outraged by this situation, but subsequently the media repeatedly tried to refute the information that cars had been parked for years. Judging by the photographs, most of them are in good condition, appeared there not very long ago and, most likely, have already found their owners. The fact is that the photographs were taken during the global crisis of 2009, when many automakers faced the problem of overproduction due to a sharp decline in demand. Such parking lots do exist, but cars do not stay there for long, taking into account the sales system described above.
Every year the number of cars that have not found their buyer increases.
There are many parking lots scattered around the world, filled with brand new cars. For example, 57 thousand cars are parked in the port of Baltimore in America.
Tens of thousands of cars are parked in the town of Sheerness in the UK.
And this is a car park in the town of Swindon in the UK. Many thousands of unsold cars have also accumulated here. To create such parking lots, automakers have to buy more and more land.
It would seem that it couldn’t be simpler - all you have to do is drop a few thousand dollars, and the cars will be sold immediately. But automakers don't want to lose a penny, because then they won't find buyers for more expensive models.
And it is also impossible to stop the conveyor. After all, factories will have to be closed and workers fired. Suppliers who manufacture components and assemblies for machines will also suffer.
This is a parking lot near the Nissan plant. There are also a lot of unsold cars accumulated here. Except that some of them were dismantled for spare parts.
The world produces tens of thousands of cars per week. And who will buy them? Indeed, in developed countries, each family has two or three cars. So why buy more? It’s cheaper to carefully use existing ones and regularly visit a car service center for routine repairs.
And in Russia, such a parking lot is located on the runway near St. Petersburg. The cars were brought from Europe, but no one needed them. And the airport cannot be used for its intended purpose.
Thousands of brand new cars are parked in Upper Hayward. The owners no longer have enough space. 
Unfortunately, there is no solution to the problem. Cars continue to roll off the assembly line and immediately end up in parking lots where previously produced cars are stored.
Interesting fact: there are already more cars on Earth than people. The number of cars reaches almost 10 billion.
These brand new Citroen cars are imported from France every day, but they sit in Corby in England with zero miles.
For many years now we have been producing more and more cars that no one will buy.
The number of parking lots of unwanted cars is growing rapidly all over the world. Why buy a new one if the old car is of good quality and lasts a long time?
And there is not enough space to store cars. Moreover, soon there will be no place to ride them. In parking lots, cars are simply slowly destroyed. Condensation accumulates in the cylinders, a process called cold metal corrosion. The batteries run low and air begins to leak out of the tires. You can no longer start the car right away - this could damage the engine.
The automotive industry does not stand still. New technologies and new improved models are being developed all the time. A car that has been parked for more than a decade has no chance of being purchased. It will either be dismantled for parts or crushed in a press.
Auto giants such as General Motors and Cadillac have moved the production of their cars to China. But such expensive cars are not in demand in this country. And now all the free sites in China are filled with brand new American cars.
This site, where new Toyotas are stored, occupies 60 hectares in Long Beach, California.
And these are the new Ford pickups in Detroit.
Parking in Bristol.
New Land Rover Freelanders are awaiting delivery at the Port of Liverpool.
Have you ever wondered whether car dealerships manage to sell all the cars? Think about it: in 2015 alone, companies around the world produced more than 68 million cars - and they are unlikely to sell them all. What you will see in this post is just the tip of the iceberg. There are still many similar parking lots filled with brand new cars in the world. If you think it's all photoshopped, you're wrong - all the pictures are genuine.
So, we will talk about the so-called “new car cemeteries” - parking lots where unsold cars are stored.
Here, for example, is a parking lot near the Nissan plant. Just think how many cars there can be here!
It would be logical to sell them at discounts. However, automakers are not making concessions. They want to get back every dollar they spent making them. In addition, if you knock a couple thousand dollars off each car, other expensive cars will remain without a buyer. Automakers are having to buy more and more land to house their accumulating surplus.
Huge areas with brand new cars. Car companies can't stop the assembly line, because then they would have to close factories and fire thousands and thousands of workers. In this case, by the way, a domino effect will begin - steel mills, whose products are used to make automobile bodies, will go bankrupt, and a bunch of other enterprises that manufacture components and assemblies will close.
Unsold cars parked in Sheerness, UK.
This is a large car park in the town of Swindon, UK, where cars have accumulated, and buyers are still not visible.
Tens of thousands of cars have been produced in factories every week for many years, but not all of them can be sold. In developed countries, almost every family now has at least one car, so why do we need new ones? It is much more profitable for a consumer to carefully use an already purchased car and take it to a car service for, say, body repair than to purchase a brand new car.
57,000 vehicles awaiting sale in the Port of Baltimore, Maryland.
And this is Russia. Thousands of cars are now parked on the runway near St. Petersburg. They were brought from Europe, and no one needs them. The airport also cannot be used for its original purpose.
It's sad to admit, but there is no real solution to the problem. So cars continue to roll off the assembly line and end up in parking lots where millions of other vehicles are already stored.
Some families may change cars every year, but most prefer to drive what they have. The proof is right in front of your eyes. Millions of cars roll out of factory gates, only to sit in parking lots forever.
Parking in Valencia, Spain.
Brand new Citroen cars in Corby, England. They are brought here from France every day, and from the day they arrive they have nowhere else to go.
This site, where new Toyotas are stored, occupies 60 hectares in Long Beach, California.
And these are the new Ford pickups in Detroit.
Parking in Bristol.
New Land Rover Freelander awaiting delivery at Liverpool Port
British Rover 75s are gathering dust in a warehouse in China.
Thousands of unsold Honda cars in Japan.
Where is the exit? Automakers are constantly developing new models with the latest technologies. Unsold two-year-old cars no longer have a chance of finding a buyer. They have no other alternative than to be dismantled for parts or crushed under pressure.
Some of the auto giants have moved production to China, for example General Motors and Cadillac. Unfortunately, cars produced in China under an American license are not in demand in the United States in the same volumes as before. Now the sites in China are filled to capacity with such brand new machines.
