Chip Shortage Makes Big Dent in Automakers’ U.S. Sales

With fewer vehicles rolling off assembly lines, dealers’ inventories have become skimpy. On Friday, Kenosha Toyota in Wisconsin had a single new vehicle for sale — a two-wheel-drive Tacoma pickup. Suburban Chevrolet of Ann Arbor in Michigan was displaying just 11 new models for sale on its website.

Despite the shortage, automakers and dealers alike are reaping hefty profits because tight inventories have forced consumers to pay higher prices. J.D. Power estimated that the average selling price of a new vehicle in September was $42,802, up more than $12,000 from the same month in 2020.

“It’s a bonanza for the dealers and the factories, despite the shortage of inventory,” Mr. Haig said.

With new cars scarce, prices of used cars have also shot up. And the latest sales figures raise concerns that the inventory shortage is worsening and crimping sales.

“There are simply not enough vehicles available to meet consumer demand,” said Thomas King, president of J.D. Power’s data and analytics division.

At General Motors, sales were down 33 percent in the quarter. The automaker sold 446,997 vehicles, compared with 665,192 light trucks and cars a year earlier. In the same quarter of 2019, G.M. sold 738,638.

Honda’s sales were down 11 percent in the quarter, to 354,914 cars and trucks. But a decline in September of nearly 25 percent from the prior year showed the increasing squeeze on production. Stellantis, which was formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s Peugeot, reported a 19 percent drop in third-quarter sales. At Nissan, the decline was 10 percent.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/business/auto-sales-gm-honda-toyota.html