As General Motors bested Toyota on U.S. sales for the second quarter in a row, the Japanese automaker looked poised to lose its place at the top of the sales heap just a year after it took the crown from GM, ending the Detroit brand’s 90-year dominance.
Toyota’s third-quarter U.S. sales dropped 7.1% year-over-year, and combined Toyota and Lexus sales are off more than 15% so far this year. GM, meanwhile, saw U.S. sales surge 24% in the third quarter, helped along by improved semiconductor chip supply.
Toyota, like many carmakers, has faced myriad headwinds, including supply-chain issues, from microchip shortages, to the war in Ukraine, to Hurricane Ian’s devastation in Florida. The challenges have kept it on a sales rollercoaster.
The carmaker told Automotive News that it expects its 2022 sales to be flat or down slightly from last year.
