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Running out of chips is a goddamn god disguise when you have half the guacamole left. It’s an even bigger problem when you’re a global automaker who can’t pick up the proverbial guacamole with your hand like a degenerate, and can only watch in horror as the shortage of chips put you on the right track for your money. worst annual sales since the 1950s. That is the situation for GM right now as the end of 2021 approaches.
In its recently released third quarter 2021 sales report, General Motors recognized 446,997 vehicle deliveries in the United States. This marks a drop of 218,195 vehicles from the same quarter last year and an even larger drop of 291,641 from the third quarter of 2019. According to Nick bunkley of Automotive News, this puts GM on pace with its worst sales volume in the United States since 1958, and behind Toyota by about 80,000 sales.
GM’s third quarter of 2020 was obviously sunk by a combination of COVID-related production disruptions and low pedestrian traffic at dealerships, while GM attributes its more severe plunge in 2021 to supply chain disruptions in Malaysia. Despite this and the crippling Chevy Bolt recall, GM remains optimistic that it will deliver a financial result within the “focus range” of its 2021 targets. This may be due in part to the noticeable gains of its premium brands, with Buick, Cadillac, and GMC still recording gains of 27, 11, and 8 percent respectively, while several high-margin products all recorded notable gains in the third quarter of 2021.
Sales remained strong for full-size trucks in particular, with a retail share up 2% to a total of 38 for the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra, while fleet sales increased by 13%. GM also continues to dominate the full-size SUV segment, occupying nearly 70% of the market with the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban and GMC Yukon. All benefited from sales growth, especially to fleet customers, who bought 89% more SUVs, although none did as well as the 2021 Escalade. Cadillac’s redesigned lineup grew 123%, further cementing its status as the best-selling luxury SUV.
Despite being a crossover for people with boring lives, the Chevy Trailblazer also made some serious gains, up 147 percent, while its parent the Buick Encore GX climbed three percent. And now that it’s as developed as the turbos in the upcoming C8 ZR1, sales of the Chevy Corvette are also on the rise, increasing by 60% for the 2021 model.
So even though overall sales are down, GM knows that keeping semiconductor chips for its most profitable models is the road to profit. Don’t count a tough quarter as a sign this Detroit Big Three member is faltering, especially with halo products like the 2022 GMC Hummer EV on the way.
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