Toyota overtakes GM as the best-selling automaker in US

Since 1931, General Motors (GM) has been the best-selling auto brand in the US. Despite the arrival of other brands, GM was able to keep its title as America's top-selling automaker for 90 years.

All of that changed today after Toyota dethroned GM as the biggest auto brand in The Land of Free. This is the first time in 90 years that GM lost its crown as the biggest auto manufacturer in its home market.

In 2021, Toyota was able to shift 2,332,262 vehicles in the US, which was a 10.4% increase compared to 2020's figures. GM, meanwhile, was only able to sell a total of 2,218,228 units in 2021, resulting in a 12.9% drop from 2020. This difference of 114,034 deliveries resulted in Toyota taking the top spot away from GM.

Leading the way was the RAV4 which saw Toyota deliver a total of 407,739 units to customers in the US. This is surprising considering Toyota sold fewer RAV4s compared to 2020 when they were able to sell 430,387 units.

GM's best-selling vehicle, on the other hand, was the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pick-up truck. In 2021, they were able to move a total of 380,715 units in the country which was down by 12.7% from 2020.

Despite Toyota beating GM as the top-selling brand in the US for 2021, both brands are still struggling with the global chip shortage. Just last year, Toyota had to temporarily stop producing vehicles across several factories around the world due to the lack of semiconductors. GM, meanwhile, had to cut production, which resulted in some models lacking certain features like heated seats or parking sensors to save on its supply of chips.

Will Toyota be able to retain its status as the biggest automaker in the US? With factories in the US starting to produce more vehicles, GM might be able to get back its crown as the top-selling auto brand in the US. However, this will still depend on whether both automakers are able to manage their parts supply and use of semiconductors better.