Why car sales are falling in the U.S.

GM retook the sales crown, but in a rough year for automakers

Cars.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images)

GM has reclaimed its title as America's top carmaker. A year after Toyota topped the domestic car sales charts — the first time a foreign company did that — Detroit returned to the top of the heap. But the victory comes during a tough year for the U.S. auto industry. "Supply chain issues, high interest rates, and low inventory meant that 2022 was a difficult year for car sales," Jalopnik reports. In fact, when all the sales are tallied up, 2022 might end up being the worst year for American car sales in more than a decade: Roughly 13.7 million new vehicles were sold, down about 8 percent. Why are car sales down? And how did GM get its sales crown back? Here's everything you need to know:

How did GM reclaim the top sales position?

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Joel Mathis, The Week US

Joel Mathis is a freelance writer who has spent nine years as a syndicated columnist, co-writing the RedBlueAmerica column as the liberal half of a point-counterpoint duo. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic, The Kansas City Star and Heatmap News. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.