(Reuters) – New car sales from major U.S. auto makers are expected to decline in 2022 due to inventory shortages, pushing Detroit giants such as General Motors (GM.N) and Ford Motor (FN). It weighs heavily on Asian brands. ).
Full-year U.S. car sales are forecast to fall 8% from 2021 and 20% from their peak in 2016 to about 13.9 million units, according to industry consultant Cox Automotive.
High material costs and persistent chip shortages have pushed inventory shortages into 2022, hampering production at many automakers. Despite improved vehicle inventories in the second half of the year, prices of cars and trucks continued to rise as supplies were tight.
Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) has been hit hard by parts shortages, forcing it to cut its full-year production target for November.
According to Cox Automotive and auto marketer TrueCar, the cuts will see the company cede its position as the top-selling automaker in the U.S. to GM in 2022.
GM’s U.S. sales are expected to grow 2.3% in 2022, while Toyota’s sales are expected to fall 9%, according to Cox Automotive. Both automakers are expected to report sales figures on Wednesday.
Some industry insiders worry that automakers will raise prices to ease inflationary pressures, hurting new car sales in the new year if interest rates rise.
Jeff Schuster, President of Global Forecasts at LMC Automotive, said:
Automakers need to incentivize buyers, but this trend came to a temporary halt during the pandemic as manufacturers and dealers struggled to meet demand, TrueCar said.
Reported by Aishwarya Nair and Nathan Gomes of Bangalore.Editing: Sirpi Majumdar
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