General Motors said Tuesday that new vehicle sales in the United States rose 14 percent last year, reflecting an overall recovery in the auto industry driven by a strong economy and improving supplies of critical components .
The company sold 2.6 million cars and light trucks in 2023, up from 2.3 million in 2022, when a shortage of computer chips prevented GM and other manufacturers from producing as many cars as consumers wanted to buy.
But a potentially worrying sign for the company was that fourth-quarter sales were relatively weak. They rose by only 0.3 percent compared to the same period last year and fell by 7 percent compared to the third quarter of 2023. This suggests that demand for cars and trucks weakened at the end of the year due to the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes and car purchases became more expensive.
Separately, Toyota Motor, the second-largest auto seller in the U.S. after GM, said its sales rose 7 percent to 2.2 million vehicles in 2023. The company's sales in the fourth quarter were 15.4 percent higher than in the same quarter of the previous year and around 5 percent higher than in the third quarter.
Sales of electric vehicles rose last year and climbed to over one million for the first time. But purchases of battery-powered cars and trucks are growing more slowly than manufacturers expected, forcing GM and other companies to adjust their production plans.
GM sold nearly 76,000 electric vehicles last year, up from about 39,000 in 2022. A majority of those sales were of two versions of the Chevrolet Bolt, which the company has stopped producing.
The company's shares lost about 2.5 percent around midday on Wednesday.