Major automakers recently reported a decline in U.S. sales in the first quarter of 2022 as inventory shortages at dealers continued to hamper sales and curb car purchases ahead of the traditional peak sales season.
A number of auto industry executives and dealers say potential demand remains strong, with most new cars and trucks snapped up almost as soon as they hit the market. But supply chain disruptions continue to affect factory output, limiting the speed at which car companies can restock dealers and complete car orders.
Toyota retained its lead in U.S. sales in the first quarter of 2022, followed by General Motors, but both global carmakers reported double-digit year-on-year sales declines.
Toyota's u.s. sales fell nearly 15% in the first quarter from a year earlier, while general motors fell about 20%, according to data released on Friday.
GM and Ford plants are still temporarily suspended.
Steve Carlisle, president of GM's North American business unit, said the supply of semiconductor chips is improving and the company is expected to achieve year-on-year sales growth by the second half of 2022. The plant is expected to operate at a near normal level in the first quarter.
But Ford and General Motors said on Thursday that they would suspend production at a Michigan plant next week because of parts shortages. Ford said it would stop production at the Flat Rock assembly plant, which makes Mustang cars, next week because of a global shortage of semiconductors.
GM also said it would stop production at the Grand River assembly plant next week because of a temporary shortage of parts, which makes Cadillac CT4, Cadillac CT5 and Chevrolet Camaro. But GM said the shutdown had nothing to do with semiconductor chips.
Toyota took the top spot in US sales from General Motors in 2021. Toyota said it sold 514492 vehicles in the United States in the first quarter, a slight margin; GM delivered 512846 vehicles in the first quarter.
Among other Asian car companies, Nissan reported a nearly 30 per cent decline in US sales in the first quarter. Hyundai says its US sales are down 4 per cent from a year earlier. Honda's U. S. sales fell 23% in the first quarter.
Stellantis, the global car company that owns Jeep, Ram and other US brands, also reported a 14 per cent drop in US sales in the first quarter.
Ford said it would release sales figures next Monday, while electric carmaker Tesla is expected to release global delivery data in the coming days, and analysts expect Tesla to set another record in the first quarter of this year.
