Toyota (TM) has dethroned General Motors (GM) to become America’s top-selling automaker in 2021.
Toyota’s victory marks the first time since 1931 that GM wasn’t the best-selling car company in the U.S. It also marks the first time that a non-domestic automaker has taken the top sales spot in America.
Toyota was able to manage supply chain issues better last year, allowing it to beat GM for the first time in 90 years. An ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips caused sporadic shutdowns of plants and led to record-low vehicle inventories last year.
GM said it sold 2.2 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2021, down by 12.9% compared to a year earlier. Toyota, by comparison, said it sold 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. last year, up 10.4% compared to 2020. The difference in sales between the two automakers was 114,034 vehicles.
General Motors has been the largest seller of vehicles in the U.S. since 1931, when it surpassed Ford (F), according to data from industry publication Automotive News.
Toyota was able to achieve the milestone by increasing sales of both cars and trucks last year, despite a 25% decline in sales of its full-size Tundra pick-up truck. Sales of its smaller Tacoma pick-up increased by 5.7% to 252,520 units.
However, GM’s stock achieved a new 52-week high yesterday (January 4) of $65.74 a share, up 7.5% on the day. The jump came after the automaker said the chip shortage was easing and it increased production at the end of last year.
GM said its fourth-quarter production and wholesale deliveries were up significantly from the third quarter as supplies increased. Dealer inventory, including in-transit vehicles on their way to dealers, was 199,662 at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 128,757 cars and trucks at the end of the third quarter.
It was a rough sales year for GM due to the semiconductor chip shortage. Sales of its popular Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck – its best-selling vehicle – were down 10.8% to less than 530,000 units.
GM has said that it plans to increase its sales and market share next year, potentially regaining its sales title.
