Toyota reports 514,592 vehicles sold in Q1; tops in US

TOKYO, Japan: Toyota Motor Corporation has reported its first-quarter sales in the U.S., which again were higher than General Motors, with 514,592 vehicles sold, a 15.8 percent decline from the year-ago quarter when Toyota sold 603,066 new vehicles.

GM said it sold 512,846 vehicles in the first quarter in the U.S., a 20.1 percent decline from the 642,250 new vehicles it sold in the year-ago period.

The entire auto industry is continuing to struggle with a global shortage of semiconductor chips and other disruptions.

The chips are used in a variety of car parts, and the shortage has stunted new car production since last year.

In 2021 the chip shortage hurt GM, which had been the nation’s auto sales leader for decades, to the point that, in a historic turn, Toyota Motors North America captured the top position in U.S. sales.

Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, said Toyota’s victory was narrow, and it “has been plagued with some of the lowest inventories in the business, so it is miraculous that it still was the bestselling automaker in the U.S.”

However, GM still witnessed strong sales gains in its full-size SUVs, such as the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade. The company’s management team directed chip supplies to its Arlington Assembly plant in Texas, where its high-profit SUVs are assembled.

“Our ability to meet pent-up demand improved dramatically, thanks to a tremendous effort by our supply chain and manufacturing teams to keep our plants operating at close to normal levels,” said Steve Carlisle, executive vice president and president of GM North America.

Meanwhile, Ford Motors also reported its first-quarter sales in the U.S. this week, as the entire auto industry is expected to report declines in sales.

Edmunds.com predicts that 3.2 million new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2022, a 15.2 percent drop from last year, but a 0.4 percent increase compared with fourth quarter 2021.

“Skyrocketing gas prices were top of mind for consumers in March, but the lack of inventory is what ultimately depressed new vehicle sales in the first quarter,” said Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.

Automakers face ongoing disruptions to supply chains and production created by the chip shortage and COVID-19.

According to AutoForecast Solutions, as of the end of March the global auto industry has lost production of 1.1 million new vehicles this year due to the semiconductor supply issue.

The industry also faces further supply chain disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“This combination of headwinds could mean that these inventory issues will persist well into the rest of the year,” Caldwell noted.