Toyota Overtakes GM as Prime U.S. Automaker

For the primary time in almost a century, Common Motors received’t have the ability to declare the title of “America’s prime automaker.”

As a substitute, that designation — for this yr, anyway — will belong to a Japanese firm.

Automakers are reporting their December and full-year gross sales totals for the U.S. market, and Common Motors’ greater than 2.2 million autos offered in 2021 trailed the greater than 2.3 million reported by Toyota. The final firm to outsell GM within the U.S. was Ford — in 1930.

GM outsold Toyota by greater than 400,000 autos in 2020, however the Detroit auto large noticed its gross sales drop 13% final yr and slide 43% within the fourth quarter. Toyota, in contrast, reported a ten% improve in U.S. gross sales in 2021 to take the highest spot.

Business analysts pointed to a lingering scarcity of semiconductors that has significantly affected the auto business. GM was pressured to alter manufacturing and give attention to extra worthwhile autos to compensate for the shortage of chips. Toyota was pressured to chop manufacturing, as effectively, however it weathered the preliminary disaster higher than its rivals.

Based on observers and the businesses themselves, nevertheless, Toyota won’t maintain the highest spot for lengthy. Pent-up client demand is predicted to end in sturdy gross sales numbers in 2022, and GM says its gross sales will enhance alongside the availability of semiconductors.

Toyota, in the meantime, declined to spike the proverbial soccer. Senior Vice President Jack Hollis instructed Reuters though the corporate is “grateful … being no. 1 is rarely a spotlight or precedence.”

If it’s not, it seems they’re fairly good at it anyway: Toyota led all different corporations in worldwide gross sales in 2020, and it’s poised to retain that title when 2021 numbers grow to be accessible later this month.