Toyota edged past General Motors to become the nation’s best-selling automaker in 2021, marking the first time a foreign manufacturer claimed the top spot.
GM sold 2.2 million cars in 2021, a 13% decline from the previous year that the Detroit-based auto giant attributed to supply chain struggles, namely the semiconductor chip shortage that is vexing the industry. It’s triggered shutdowns of factories and kept inventories at historically thin levels.
Since 1931, GM has been the leading automaker in the U.S. But Toyota, the Japanese auto giant, gained ground last year because it was better positioned to weather supply chain challenges: It took early steps to stockpile chips and other key parts, allowing it to maintain production levels while competitors could not. Toyota company sold 2.3 million cars in 2021, up about 10% from the year before.
All in all, Cox Automotive projects that 15 million cars were sold in the United States last year, up 3.5% from 2020 but well below pre-pandemic levels. While consumer demand held up throughout the year, “inventory did not,” the company said in its end-of-year forecast.
“In the second half of 2021, having the right product, in the right color and trim, in the right metro market was a challenge for all automakers,” Cox said in a news release. “Those with smaller dealer networks, better supply chains, and the right portfolio of products benefited the most – Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, to name a few.”
Industry experts don’t expect the shift to be permanent, with many projecting GM will reclaim its spot once it gets a handle on supply chain challenges. Even Toyota North America’s senior vice president of automotive operations told reporters Tuesday that beating out GM is “not our goal, nor do we see it as sustainable.”
But the change nonetheless reflects the topsy-turvy nature of the auto market, which along with formidable challenges wrought by the coronavirus pandemic is also undergoing major transformation as the push toward electric vehicles rewrites the rules of engagement. Tesla’s more than $1 trillion market capitalization is currently worth more than that of GM, Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen combined.
GM is aiming to sell only zero-emission cars and trucks by 2035, and has committed to spending $35 billion to build up its electric and autonomous vehicle infrastructure, endeavoring to position itself as the automaker of the future. Toyota, an early leader in electrification, has vowed to spend $17 billion to bring 30 different EVs to market by 2030.
“Toyota should get credit for a successful year in which they are now at the top of the auto mountain,” Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, told The Post in an email. “However we believe GM will retake the lead in 2022, especially with its massive EV ambitions going after the green tidal wave.”
The chip shortage dampened sales of GM’s top-selling vehicle, the Chevrolet Silverado, which dropped 10.8% in 2021 to less than 530,000 units. But the company has big plans for 2022, including the release of the electric Hummer and Cadillac and the unveiling of the electric Silverado, Steve Carlisle, GM’s executive vice president, said Tuesday in a news release.
“In 2022, we plan to take advantage of the strong economy and anticipated improved semiconductor supplies to grow our sales and share,” Carlisle said. “We will also further strengthen our industry leadership in trucks and begin our drive to EV leadership in North America.”
(c) 2022, The Washington Post · Taylor Telford
{Matzav.com}
What’s good for Toyota is good for General Motors.
Toyota earned that spot by making long-lasting, reliable, safe, comfortable vehicles. They’re also pricier than comparable American cars, so it really says something about how good they are when people are willing to pay a premium to get a Toyota.
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