Car sales in the United States will fall in 2022; General Motors will regain the top spot

Las New car sales in the United States of major automakers are expected to decline in 2022 due to inventory shortages, which weigh more heavily on Asian brands than Detroit giants such as General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co.

Car sales in the United States for the entire year would be around 13.9 million units, 8% less than in 2021 and 20% less than the maximum reached in 2016, according to the sector consultancy Cox Automotive.

Stock shortages, caused by rising material costs and persistent chip shortages, have extended into 2022, weighing on production at many automakers. Tight supplies kept car and truck prices high, despite auto inventory improving in the second half of the year.

Toyota Motor It has been one of the biggest hit by parts shortages, which forced the Japanese company to cut its full-year production target in November.

The cut will see the company cede its spot as the top-selling automaker in the United States by 2022 to General Motors, which relinquished that position in late 2021 for the first time since 1931, according to Cox Automotive and the TrueCar auto marketplace.

GM’s US sales in 2022 will rise 2.3%, while Toyota’s will fall 9%, according to Cox Automotive. Both manufacturers will present their sales figures on Wednesday.

Some industry observers fear that the price hikes from automakers to ease inflationary pressures and rising interest rates affecting new vehicle sales this year.

“We expect 2023 to carry a high level of risk and uncertainty, as several markets could face a recession,” said Jeff Schuster, president of global forecasting at LMC Automotive.

Carmakers will have to start incentivizing buyers, a trend that was briefly halted during the pandemic as manufacturers and dealers scrambled to keep up with demand, according to TrueCar.