Tesla achieves record third quarter sales, chip shortage outshines rest of industry



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How severe is the global semiconductor chip shortage? Choose the story you want to prove. Because everyone bought so many Peloton bikes and Nintendo Switches when they were stuck inside last year – and automakers don’t have the components to keep up with demand – there is very little. of rental cars available, Toyota has cut its production forecast for the coming months by 40% and General Motors is on track for its worst sales year since 1958. As data for the third quarter of 2021 rolls in, it there is apparently a light shining in the dark, and it is Tesla.

The now Austin, Texas-based automaker (unusual to see from a Tesla press release) said over the weekend it produced 237,823 vehicles in the last quarter and delivered 241,300. . As The edge reported, this represents more than 100,000 cars from the same quarter last year, and Tesla’s best sales quarter ever. In fact, GM only sold less than double that number in the third quarter, and admittedly it’s a much bigger company.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said his company has largely (so far, anyway) been able to avoid chip issues faced by other automakers by sourcing chips from different vendors and asking their teams to rewrite the code on the fly. As he said on a conference call this summer: “It’s not just about trading a token; you must also rewrite the software. And while it would be arrogant to assume that Tesla is permanently immune to a problem that hangs over the rest of the business, Musk said he sees the shortage as a short-term problem rather than a persistent problem. And Ford CEO Jim Farley also said The reader this summer he believes we are past the worst point in this supply chain crisis and “the chip situation is improving.”

We’ll find out on Monday if Farley was right, because that’s when Ford is expected to release its third quarter sales figures. But the rest of the auto industry didn’t have a great story to tell. According to Automotive News, the ultra-popular Subaru announced a 30% drop in sales in September, Volkswagen and Audi were down 8 and 14% respectively, Hyundai was down slightly year-on-year and Nissan was in 10% drop in the third quarter, leaving virtually no supply. of its Rogue crossover which sells in volume.

In other words, it’s just a bad time if you’re shopping for a car. Have you tried buying a new car lately? How was your experience?

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