General Motors Co. reported a 15 percent drop in second-quarter auto sales on Friday as global chip shortages and supply chain disruptions hit production and left nearly 100,000 vehicles waiting for more parts.
The US auto industry is struggling to keep up with pent-up consumer demand for new cars as it struggles to ramp up production due to chip shortages, labor shortages and gridlock-related issues. in the supply chain.
GM, which lost its crown as sales leader last year for the first time since 1931 to Toyota, said it sold 582,401 vehicles in the quarter through June compared to 688,236 vehicles a year ago.
However, the Detroit automaker is still expected to be the top seller of new vehicles in the quarter, according to Cox Automotive, as industry-wide disruptions reduce inventory at other major automakers.
GM also said it expected net income of between $1.6 billion and $1.9 billion in the second quarter. Analysts on average estimate a profit of US$2.56 billion, according to Refinitiv data. It was not immediately clear if the numbers were comparable.
Automakers are set to report US new vehicle sales for three months through June on Friday and Tuesday.
Toyota has been one of the hardest-hit automakers this year as chip shortages and China’s COVID-19 lockdowns, which have hit other automakers as well, forced it to repeatedly cut production, tarnishing your production targets for the full year.
Toyota, along with Stellantis, Hyundai Motor Co., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co Ltd., will report a decline in quarterly sales, excluding Ford, according to data from Cox and TrueCar.
Cox officials said Ford, which reports June sales on Tuesday, has managed its inventories better than most others and is also recovering from last year’s struggles.
Tesla Inc. will be the only major brand to increase sales in the first half of the year, Cox said.
Read more:
Canada must increase incentives, charging capacity to meet EV targets: industry groups
Industry watchers are concerned about the potential impact of multi-decade high inflation and rising gasoline prices on the auto industry, although they note that demand remains strong today, an unusual development.
A bigger impediment to increasing auto sales today appears to be an industry-wide shortage of cars and trucks, prompting analysts to cut their full-year sales forecasts.
“A recovery in vehicle production in 2022 seems highly unlikely at the moment,” said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at auto industry consultancy Edmunds.