People look at the Cadillac Lyriq electric vehicle at the Cadillac booth at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan September 14, 2022.
Geoff Robins | AFP | Getty Images
DETROIT — General Motors’ vehicle sales rose 24% year over year in the third quarter as supply chain issues weighed more heavily on the company’s manufacturing.
The Detroit-based automaker said Monday it sold 555,580 vehicles from July to September, up from 447,000 a year earlier, when sales fell due to semiconductor chip supply problems in Malaysia. The increase met or exceeded industry analyst expectations of at least 21.6%.
related investment news
Argus downgrades Nike to hold and says overstocked inventory will continue to weigh on the retailer
Regarding electric vehicles, GM said it plans to ramp up production of its Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV after the vehicles posted their best-ever quarterly sales of 14,709 units. GM intends to increase calendar year production for global markets from approximately 44,000 vehicles in 2022 to more than 70,000 in 2023.
The increase for GM’s older Bolt models contrasts with production of the expensive GMC Hummer EV pickup. Beginning in late November, the company announced on Monday it would halt production of the pickup for several weeks to speed up body shop upgrades for the upcoming electric Chevrolet Silverado.
The company produced the Hummer EV pickup, which was the first vehicle to feature GM’s next-generation Ultium batteries and platform, at a snail’s pace compared to its typical vehicle performance.
GM didn’t immediately announce sales of individual vehicles like the Hummer EV, which it traditionally has every quarter.
GM is among the first major automakers to report third-quarter sales on Monday. Overall, analysts estimate that US automakers sold 3.4 million new light trucks, down less than 1% from the same period last year.
Automakers continue to address supply chain issues—from semiconductors and wire harnesses to smaller parts like vehicle and company logos.
GM ended the third quarter with 359,292 vehicles in dealer inventory, including units in transit, an increase of 111,453 units from the prior quarter. This is almost triple the stock available at the end of the third quarter of 2021, when supply chain issues related to Covid impacted production.
This is an evolving story. Please check back for further updates.