General Motors says sales rose 24% in the third quarter

DETROIT – General Motors’ third-quarter vehicle sales increased 24% compared to a year ago, when supply chain issues weighed more heavily on the company’s output.

The Detroit automaker on Monday said it sold 555,580 vehicles from July through September, up from about 447,000 a year earlier, when sales were depressed due to Malaysia-related supply issues of semiconductor chips. The increase was in line with or higher than industry analysts’ expectations of an at least 21.6% increase.

Regarding electric vehicles, GM said it plans to increase production of its Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV after the vehicles recorded their best quarterly sales ever at 14,709 units. GM intends to boost 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 is in contrast to production of the pricy GMC Hummer EV pickup. Beginning in late November, the company on Monday said it will pause production of the pickup for several weeks to pull ahead body shop upgrades for the upcoming electric Chevrolet Silverado.

The company has been producing 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 output of vehicles. The automaker has only sold 782 Hummer EVs, which currently cost more than $100,000.

Through the first nine months of the year, GM’s sales totaled 1.65 million, down 7.1% compared to the same time period in 2021.

GM ended the third quarter with 359,292 vehicles in dealer inventory, including units in-transit, an increase of 111,453 units from the previous quarter. That’s nearly three times the inventory available at the end of the third quarter of 2021, when Covid-related supply chain issues impacted production.

GM was among the first major automakers to report third-quarter sales Monday. Overall, analysts estimate automakers sold 3.4 million new light-duty vehicles in the U.S., down less than 1% from the same time last year.

Automakers continue to deal with supply chain issues – from semiconductors and wire harnesses to smaller parts such as vehicle and company logos.

Others automakers to report September and/or third-quarter sales include:

• Toyota Motor said its third-quarter sales declined 7.1% from the same time last year to 526,017 vehicles.

• Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler) sold 385,665 vehicles during the third quarter, down about 6%.

• Hyundai Motor reported sales of 184,431 in the third quarter, up about 3%.

• Honda Motor said its sales declined 36% from the same time last year to 222,050 vehicles.

• Nissan Motor sold 154,086 vehicles during the third quarter, down about 23%.

• BMW reported sales increased 3.8% from the same time last year to 85,209 vehicles.