General Motors said Monday that its new-vehicle sales in the United States increased 24 percent in the third quarter, indicating that the global computer chip shortage is beginning to ease.
The automaker said it sold 555,580 light trucks and cars in the three-month period ending Sept. 30, compared with 446,997 in the same period in 2021.
Other automakers are expected to report their sales totals later on Monday. Ford Motor is scheduled to disclose its sales on Tuesday.
On Sunday, Tesla said it delivered 343,000 electric cars worldwide in the third quarter. That was an increase from a year ago but short of analyst expectations. “This quarter was nothing to write home about,” Dan Ives, a Wedbush analyst, said in a report.
A U.S. total for Tesla was unavailable because the company does not break down sales by region.
Like most other automakers, General Motors is in the midst of a fundamental transition to electric vehicles. At the same time, the auto industry has been grappling with a shortage of semiconductors as well as the coronavirus pandemic, which have disrupted production at plants around the world.
G.M.’s sales in the third quarter were a contrast to its sluggish performance in the same quarter in 2021, when production of key components in Asia was hurt.
G.M. said it sold more than 14,700 Chevrolet Bolt electric cars in the third quarter, its highest quarterly total ever. The jump in Bolt sales comes after the company lowered prices on the vehicle.
The company said it planned to increase Bolt production next year to about 70,000 cars from this year’s expected output of about 44,000.
In August, G.M. started production at a battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio. Battery packs made there will be used in an electric pickup truck and two electric sport-utility vehicles G.M. plans to introduce in 2023.
