General Motors U.S. vehicle sales hit by chip shortage in Q3

General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) U.S. vehicle sales came in 32.8% lower in the third quarter as the ongoing global chip shortage hurt production and weighed on dealer inventories. In comparison, analysts had called for an up to 31.5% decline.

GM’s year-to-date sales are in line with 2020

The year-over-year decline was particularly concerning as sales were already down in Q3 of 2020 due to the global pandemic. GM’s year-to-date sales, however, are still in line with last year at 1.8 million.

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Nonetheless, the stock held its ground on Friday as GM had already warned investors last month that its wholesale volumes in North America could see a sequential decline of roughly 200,000 units in the back half of the year.

Chevrolet sales were down the most at 36.1%. None of the other brands, however, hit the “growth” territory either.

GM’s supply constraints are alleviating

On the flip side, General Motors’ Steve Carlisle said part of the lost volume could recover in the current quarter (Q4) as the supply constraints were alleviating. The president of General Motors North America said:

As we look to Q4, a steady flow of vehicles held at plants will continue to be released to dealers. We are restarting production at key crossover and car plants, and we look forward to a more stable operating environment through the fall.

Despite the dovish report, GM reiterated its full-year guidance of $5.40 to $6.40 in adjusted per-share earnings. The announcement comes only days after Goldman Sachs rated General Motors at “outperform”.