The second quarter of this year saw more Americans buying new vehicles, mostly encouraged by improving supplies giving potential car buyers a wider variety to choose from. Also, a vastly improved job market means more people have jobs which enable them to buy new vehicles.
While not all the data has come in, experts from auto industry think tanks GlobalData and JD Power expect total American car sales for the second quarter to hit around 4,116,600, an 18.2% increase from figures from the same time last year.
It will be recalled that the automotive sector was one of those hardest hit by the pandemic. Manufacturing, in particular, found itself in a precarious position following supply chain disruptions that held up the delivery of vital components like semiconductor chips.
This shortage of key parts meant the industry struggled to meet a highly increased demand for land vehicles of all kinds. Thanks to the relaxing of pandemic restrictions on trade, automotive firms now find themselves challenged as to how to make up for the shortfall in supply.
Who’s Up at the Moment?
The North American arm of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation saw an increase of 5.13% in its US sales as of June 30th, selling a total of 568,962 vehicles at the end of the first half of the year. However, Toyota US remains challenged as to how to shop enough vehicles to dealers in the shortest amount of time.
Supply issues have not been a problem for General Motors, however. As of the end of the second quarter, the automotive titan saw its domestic sales rise by around 19% or around 691,978 units sold.
Stellantis unit FCA US, on the other hand, saw its total US sales rise by around 6%.
With regard to the electric vehicle (EV) sector, it has been noted that sector leader Tesla has kicked off a price war with the competition, having delivered a record-breaking number of units in the first half of the year.
