New auto sales up in 2021, but long way from full recovery

New vehicle sales in the United States rebounded slightly last year from 2020’s dismal numbers but were still about two million below the years before the coronavirus pandemic.

The reason? Although there are plenty of customers who want to buy new vehicles at hefty prices, there still aren’t enough computer chips for the industry to fully crank up its factories. So supplies are short, prices are high, and many customers can’t get what they want.

Sales hit just over 15 million vehicles in 2021, up 3.4 per cent from 2020, the year the pandemic took hold in the US.

“Demand is not off at all,” said Michelle Krebs, executive analyst for Cox Automotive. “What is off is sales, because the inventory doesn’t exist.”

Cox expects 2021 sales to be 14.9 million vehicles, up 2.5 per cent from 2020, the year the pandemic hit the US and forced the industry to shut down for eight weeks. But over the five years before the pandemic, sales averaged 17.3 million.

Among the hardest hit by the chip shortage was General Motors, which was unseated by Toyota last year as the nation’s top-selling automaker for the first time.

GM on Tuesday reported that last year’s US sales fell 13 per cent from 2020 levels to just over 2.2 million. Toyota, on the other hand, saw its sales rise 10.4 per cent to just over 2.3 million.

CHIP SHORTAGE

Like other automakers, GM was forced to temporarily close factories during the year as it struggled to get semiconductors, especially early in the year. Krebs said she isn’t sure if GM will be able to dislodge Toyota this year because Toyota has managed the chip shortage better and has a faster distribution.

GM diverted limited chip supplies to higher-margin pickup trucks and full-size SUVs, boosting the company’s bottom line, spokesman Jim Cain said. Early last year, GM forecast pre-tax earnings of US$10 billion to US$11 billion, but expects to finish the year around US$14 billion, he said.

The company, Cain said, expects the chip shortage to ease this year, with more available in the second half.

Among other automakers reporting full-year sales numbers were Ford, with a 7 per cent year-over-year decline; Stellantis, with a 2.2 per cent drop; and Subaru, with sales falling 4.6 per cent below 2020 levels. Honda posted an 8.9 per cent increase, while Hyundai saw a 23.3 per cent jump. Nissan sales also rose, by 8.7 per cent, while Volkswagen Group posted an 11.7 per cent increase, according to Motor Intelligence.

Analysts and industry executives say although chip supplies are improving, it is not certain when they’ll get back to pre-pandemic levels. The average gas-powered vehicle has about 1,000 chips, and electric vehicles can have more than double that number.

IHS Markit analyst Phil Amsrud, who follows automotive chips, said supplies won’t improve immediately.

“We’re seeing 2022 as being an improvement over 2021, but it’s not going to start January third or fourth,” he said, adding that the second half should be better than the first.

There are signs that the number of vehicles on dealer lots is growing, though. It rose to more than one million last month for the first time since August, Krebs said. But that’s still 1.5 million below 2020 and 2.5 million fewer than in 2019.

Cox is predicting that US new vehicle sales will increase by more than one million this year, to around 16 million.

STRONG DEMAND

Amsrud attributed the vehicle inventory growth more to automakers managing the chip shortage better, rather than any dramatic growth in chip supplies. Like GM, many have allocated chips to build more expensive models.

Because of strong demand and low supplies, J.D. Power says the average new vehicle price rose to US$45,743 in December, 20 per cent higher than a year ago and the first time it finished above US$45,000.

Sales of fully electric vehicles rose 87.9 per cent for the year to nearly 489,000, but they still accounted for only 3.2 per cent of the market.

Sedans definitely aren’t driving new vehicle demand. J.D. Power reports that SUVs and pickup trucks accounted for a record 80.2 per cent of new vehicle sales in December.

AP