Japanese group Toyota overtook General Motors in the United States in 2021 – the first time that the Detroit automaker has not led US car sales since 1931 – 90 years. The Japanese company said it sold 2.332 million vehicles in the United States in 2021, compared with General Motors’ 2.218 million.
Ford is expected to close the year in third place. Compared to 2020, GM’s U.S. sales fell 13% in 2021 – and 43% in the fourth quarter – while Toyota’s sales were up 10%, as did Ford’s.
Analysts forecasts for the United States are about 15 million vehicles sold in 2021, a difficult year mainly due to the shortage of microchips. In fact, the year ended below the average of 17.3 million recorded between 2015 and 2019. On Wall Street, Toyota Motor’s stock rose by 5.95%.