GM Reclaims Its Crown As America’s Automotive Market Leader

General Motors (GM) reclaims its crown as the leader of the US automobile market. In 2022, the group established itself as the largest car seller in the United States with 2.25 million vehicles delivered in 2022, surpassing Toyota, according to figures published on Wednesday, January 4.

Toyota sales fall sharply

The US automaker, which posted a 3% increase in annual sales, is ahead of the US subsidiary of its Japanese rival, which sold 2.11 million vehicles last year, a drop of 9.6%.

In 2021, Toyota had announced a 10% increase in sales, to 2.3 million units, when General Motors had seen its own sales fall by 13%, to 2.2 million units.

The entire industry was reeling in 2021 from global shortages of semiconductors, critical components for vehicle manufacturing, and supply chain disruption. This situation has largely persisted until 2022.

“GM will continue its strong momentum in North America in 2023,” predicted Steve Carlisle, president of GM North America and group executive vice president, quoted in a press release.

“We see opportunities to increase our share of the electric vehicle market with nine all-electric models for sale, expanding our dominance in the truck business. […] and win new customers with the affordable and stylish 2024 Chevrolet Trax (a compact SUV), he added.

The Detroit group increased sales of its Chevrolet brand by 6%, Cadillac by 14% and GMC by 7%.

For its part, Toyota suffered especially from the 8.6% drop in the number of SUVs sold, which represent more than 40% of all its sales.

A still disrupted US market in 2022

According to Cox Automotive, total car sales in the United States are expected to reach 13.9 million vehicles for the full year, down 8% from 2021 and down 20% from the record reached in 2016.

“Given the strong improvement on the supply side, it seems likely that rising interest rates are now constraining demand in the auto retail market,” said Charles Chesbrough, economist at Cox Automotive.

“With record prices and high loan rates, the pool of potential new car buyers is dwindling,” he added.