GM profits soar on enhanced supply chain issues

July 6, 2023: General Motors’ U.S. vehicle sales increased by 18.8% in the dual quarter compared to subdued effects a year ago when the automaker was battling supply chain issues.

On Wednesday, the Detroit automaker reported sales of 691,978 new vehicles from April through June. That compared to 582,401 vehicles during the second quarter of 2022. It also is a sequential increase compared to GM’s initial-quarter sales of just over 600,000 new cars and trucks.

GM’s second-quarter sales and those of other automakers such as Honda Motor, Nissan Motor, and Stellantis indicate demand for new vehicles remains healthy as inventories of cars and trucks improve from historically low levels during the coronavirus pandemic and supply chain problems.

Auto industry forecasters project industry sales to have increased by 16% to 18% during the second quarter compared to a year earlier.

Cox Automotive recently increased its full-year new vehicle sales forecast to 15 million for the broader industry, a gain of nearly 8% from 2022, when sales finished at 13.9 million due to low inventory levels and inflated prices.

GM stated retail sales increased 15% through the year’s first half, while its fleet business bounced 30%.

GM maintained its status as the country’s largest automaker through the first six months of the year, with sales up 18.3% to nearly 1.3 million vehicles. The Detroit carmaker recovered that decades-long title last year after Toyota Motor took the top spot in 2021. That year was the first time since 1931 that GM wasn’t the best-selling car business in the U.S.

On Wednesday, Toyota conveyed sales of more than 1 million vehicles in the U.S. through June.