In the first quarter, Toyota outperformed General Motors in U.S. sales.

• Dealers faced inventory shortages due to supply-chain disruptions, resulting in a 20.1% decline in GM's U.S. sales from the previous year.
• Despite facing similar challenges, Toyota managed to regain the U.S. sales crown from GM.

U.S. sales in the first quarter fell 20% from the previous year, as predicted by analysts, due to supply-chain problems that affected production and kept dealers' inventories low.

GM's North America chief stated that semiconductor chip supplies are improving and predicted that the company will achieve year-over-year sales growth in the second half of 2022.

In the first quarter, GM's North America business unit president Steve Carlisle stated that the factories were able to operate at "near normal levels."

In the first quarter of 2021, GM delivered 512,846 vehicles, while Toyota reported a 14.7% decline in its U.S. sales from the previous year, totaling 514,492 vehicles. This resulted in Toyota taking the U.S. sales crown from GM.

Despite the global shortage of semiconductor chips and other key automotive components, GM has been working to replenish its dealer inventories by increasing production in North America.

The number of vehicles in GM's U.S. inventory increased to approximately 274,000 by the end of March, compared to 200,000 at year end and 129,000 at the end of September.

"Although supply chain disruptions have not completely subsided, we anticipate surpassing 2021 production levels, particularly in the second half of the year, according to Carlisle."

Despite a decline in sales of most GM vehicles compared to the previous year, there were some exceptions, including GM's big truck-based SUVs and heavy-duty versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, which had higher sales in the first quarter of 2021.

This is developing news. Check back for updates.