(Reuters) -General Motors Co on Friday reported a drop in U.S. auto sales for the first time in four quarters, hit by worsening semiconductor chip shortages and low inventories.
Chip shortages and supply chain disruptions have crimped production at automakers worldwide, forcing them to cut production and in some cases, to produce vehicles without chips and park them at their facilities.
The problems have, however, allowed then to sell vehicles at record prices, benefiting profits.
“While supply has been constraining sales in recent months, underlying demand conditions remain strong,” said Elaine Buckberg, GM’s chief economist.
The No. 1 U.S. automaker said https://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2021/oct/1001-gmsales.html third-quarter sales fell to 446,997 vehicles, down 218,195 vehicles from a year earlier.
(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
