Toyota Motor Corp., Hyundai and Kia posted lower U.S. sales for the third straight month in October as tight chip supplies and other bottlenecks continue to undermine light-vehicle output and dealer stockpiles.
Toyota Motor, which has been forced to cut global output in recent months, said sales dropped 29 percent in October, with volume off 31 percent at the Toyota division and 15 percent at Lexus.
It was the third straight monthly, and biggest, drop in Toyota brand volume and second consecutive monthly decline at Lexus.
The Toyota brand’s biggest sellers all posted double-digit declines: Camry, off 40 percent; RAV4, down 39 percent; Tacoma, off 38 percent; Highlander, down 19 percent and Corolla, off 61 percent.
Toyota Motor ended October with 111,224 Toyota and Lexus vehicles in dealer stocks and transit, up from 98,724 at the end of September, a spokesman said.
Deliveries slipped 1.1 percent at Hyundai, though the company said retail volume rose 1 percent to an October record of 52,767.
A Hyundai spokesman said the company’s dealer stock stood at 19,894 at the end of last month, off 26 percent from 26,717 at the close of September and down 86 percent from 142,616 at the end of October 2020.
Kia deliveries dropped 7.2 percent to 52,067, with 82 percent of the company’s inventory sold during the month.
“Despite ongoing supply chain issues and chip shortages, we expect our available supply and robust customer interest will help us have a strong finish to the year,” Eric Watson, vice president for sales operations at Kia America, said in a statement.
Genesis said deliveries rose 403 percent last month to 5,300, with the luxury brand’s two crossovers once again combining to easily outsell combined sales of the company’s three sedans.
Mazda reported lower sales for the second straight month, with October deliveries down 14 percent.
Honda Motor Co., Subaru and Volvo will post October results later Tuesday. Ford Motor Co. will report sales for the month on Wednesday. The rest of the industry releases sales on a quarterly basis.
