Toyota Motor North America’s December sales fell 30 percent to 174,115 — the automaker’s biggest drop of 2021 — as it continued to struggle with production and inventory in the face of supply shortages and disruptions from COVID-19. However, for the year, the Japanese automaker posted a gain of 10 percent to 2,332,261 vehicles, edging out General Motors to become the nation’s top-selling automaker for the first time. GM had held the U.S. sales crown for 90 years.
Brands: Toyota, down 29%; Lexus, down 37%
Notable nameplates: Toyota RAV4, down 26%; Highlander, down 28%; Corolla, off 45%; Camry, down 34%; Tacoma, down 33%; 4Runner, down 12%; Lexus RX, down 20%; NX, down 82%; ES, down 21%
Incentives (Q4): $1,243 per vehicle, down 53% from a year earlier, TrueCar says.
Average transaction price (Q4): $36,985, up 5.2% from a year earlier, according to TrueCar.
Inventory: 125,423, a 20-day supply
Quote: “Despite a second consecutive year of challenges, TMNA focused on delivering an exceptional customer experience, and we remain optimistic as our electrification strategy further evolves,” said Jack Hollis, senior vice president of the automaker’s Automotive Operations Group. “Thanks to our phenomenal dealers and world-class purchasing and manufacturing teams, our inventory continues to improve and we’re preparing to introduce 21 all-new, refreshed or special edition vehicles in 2022.”
Did you know? With 583,697 deliveries, Toyota and Lexus’ combined lineups of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for 25 percent of the automaker’s U.S. volume in 2021, up from 16 percent in 2020.