In a historic turn, Toyota Motor North America has taken the U.S. sales crown from General Motors for 2021 after the shortage of semiconductor chips severely hampered GM’s ability to build enough new vehicles to meet demand.
On Tuesday, GM and Toyota both reported fourth-quarter and full-year new car sales results and, as many analysts predicted, Toyota outsold GM in both categories. GM has been the market leader since the Great Depression, according to Automotive News.
GM reported its fourth-quarter sales plummeted 43% to 440,745 vehicles sold compared with the year-ago quarter. For the full year, GM’s new vehicle sales in the U.S. declined 13% to 2.2 million new cars sold.
Meanwhile, Toyota reported it sold 474,378 new vehicles in the fourth quarter, down 28% from the year-ago period. For the full year, it sold 2.3 million vehicles, a 10.4% gain from 2020. Toyota’s biggest sellers were the Camry sedan, the RAV4 and Highlander SUVs and the Tacoma pickup.
But Toyota’s win is likely an anomaly, said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of Insights for Edmunds.