GM surpasses Toyota in US as industry braces for on-demand brakes

Oct. 3 (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N) has surpassed Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T) in the United States in its third quarter, data shows Monday, but analysts and investors are concerned over a obscuring economic picture will lead to a decline in car sales.

So far, a shortage of cars due to supply disruptions, combined with a preference for personal transportation, has made consumers willing to spend more, largely protecting the profits of automakers and car dealers who forgo discounts.

But analysts are now warning that demand could lose momentum in coming quarters as rising interest rates discourage consumers from paying more for cars and trucks in the coming months.

“We are cautiously optimistic about the future. There is a lot of negative consumer confidence in the market. So of course we are concerned about that,” said Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor North America, in a post-automaker interview. reported a 3% increase in car sales.

GM said it sold 555,580 vehicles in the quarter through September, 24% more than last year when inventory shortages hit sales. Toyota’s sales fell 7.1% over the same period to 526,017 vehicles.

GM sold Toyota in the first nine months of the year with approximately 80,000 vehicles. Toyota surpassed GM in sales by about 110,000 vehicles in 2021, the first time since 1931 that GM did not lead the U.S. auto industry in sales.

Referring to the 2021 win, Toyota president Akio Toyoda last week told dealers he was doing a “happy dance” in my office when the numbers were announced.

New car sales in the US ended September at 1.11 million units, with annual sales of 13.49 million, according to data from Wards Intelligence.

GM, whose shares rose 2.4%, added it would increase production of its Chevrolet Bolt electric models in response to increased demand.

Shipping finished vehicles to consumers proved to be another headache for some businesses. Shares of Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) fell Monday after it sold fewer-than-expected vehicles in the third quarter as deliveries lagged far behind production due to logistical hurdles.

Supply problems caused Fiat Chrysler (STLA.MI) sales to drop by 6%.

However, macroeconomic concerns are on the minds of analysts following an inflation warning from used car dealer CarMax Inc (KMX.N) last week.

“Discounts may begin to materialize as economic conditions, rising interest rates and constant vehicle availability affect the supply-demand imbalance in the coming quarters,” said TrueCar analyst Zack Krelle.

Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Maju Samuel

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