The shortage of semiconductors continues to have a firm grip on the auto industry – this is also having an impact on US sales figures. Toyota is on track to overthrow market leader GM in its home market.
The largest US automaker General Motors was hit particularly hard by the industry-wide chip supply bottlenecks in the past quarter.
GM sales in the home market fell year-on-year by almost a third to just under 447,000 vehicles, as the group announced on Friday. Toyota, on the other hand, was even able to grow slightly and is well ahead of long-term market leader GM after the first nine months of the year.
At the Japanese industry giant, US sales increased by 1.4 percent to a good 566,000 vehicles in the third quarter. After three quarters, Toyota now has just under 1.858 million vehicles – and GM is 1.777 million.
The current shortage of chips is particularly troubling for automakers around the world. As a result, various manufacturers had to suspend production in the past few months or were unable to complete vehicles. GM specifically pointed to bottlenecks in semiconductor production in Malaysia, but the situation is improving.
The US sales of German automakers developed differently. At Volkswagen, the number of vehicles sold fell by 8 percent to 79,321. The sports car subsidiary Porsche sold 15,289 cars, 1.7 percent fewer.
BMW, on the other hand, increased its sales in the USA by 8.7 percent to 75,619 vehicles. Since the beginning of the year, the group has sold 243 613 cars, even 35.4 percent more than in the first nine months of 2020. Volkswagen has posted an increase of 29.9 percent to 51 615 cars since the beginning of the year.
Other Japanese manufacturers did not do as well as Toyota in the US market. At Honda, sales fell by around eleven percent to just under 346,000 vehicles, and at Nissan by ten percent to around 199,000.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
