General Motors Co outsold Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp in the United States in the third quarter, but analysts and investors are worried that a darkening economic picture will lead to a drop in car sales.
A shortage of cars due to supply disruptions has resulted in consumers willing to shell out more money, protecting profits at automakers and auto dealers that have pulled back on discounts.
As rising interest rates discourage consumers from paying more money for cars and trucks in the coming months, analysts warn that demand may lose steam in the coming quarters.
We're cautiously optimistic about moving forward. Randy Parker, the chief executive officer of Hyundai Motor North America, said in an interview that the automaker reported a 3% increase in vehicle sales.
In the quarter, GM sold 555,580 vehicles, which was 24% higher than last year when inventory shortages hit sales. Toyota's sales fell 7.1% to 526,017 vehicles in the same period.
GM outsold Toyota by about 80,000 vehicles in the first nine months of the year. Toyota topped GM in sales by more than 110,000 vehicles in the year 2021, the first time since 1931 that GM did not lead the US auto industry in sales.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda told dealers last week he did a 'happy dance' in my office when the figures were announced, according to Toyota President Akio Toyoda.
According to Wards Intelligence data, US new vehicle sales in September were 1.11 million units, with an annual sales rate of 13.49 million.
GM, whose shares closed up 2.4%, said it would boost production of its Chevrolet Bolt electric models in response to higher demand.
Shipping finished-vehicles to consumers was a headache for some companies. Tesla Inc shares fell on Monday after it sold fewer-than-expected vehicles in the third quarter, as deliveries lagged way behind production due to logistic hurdles.
After used-car retailer CarMax Inc's inflation warning last week, macroeconomic concerns are top of analyst minds.
According to Zack Krelle, TrueCar analyst Zack Krelle, said that a discount may begin to materialize as economic conditions, rising interest rates and steady vehicle availability affect the imbalance of supply and demand over the coming quarters.