3 Major Japan Automakers Post Lower U.S. Sales in 2022

Jiji Press

12:50 JST, January 5, 2023

Las Vegas (Jiji Press)—Three major Japanese automakers Wednesday reported lower U.S. vehicle sales for 2022, hit by prolonged semiconductor shortages and elevated raw materials costs.

Sales by Toyota Motor Corp. fell 9.6 pct from the previous year to 2,108,458 units, with those of its RAV4 SUV sliding 1.9 pct.

In 2021, Toyota became the first non-U.S. automaker to be the U.S. market’s top seller, outstripping General Motors Co. The Detroit automaker returned to the top slot in 2022 with its sales growing 2.5 pct to some 2.27 million units.

Among other Japanese makers, Honda Motor Co. saw its sales slump 32.9 pct to 983,507 units. Sales at Nissan Motor Co. dropped 25.4 pct to 729,350 units.

Sales across the industry in 2022 are estimated at 13.9 million units, down 8 pct from the previous year, according to Toyota Motor North America Inc. and others. The figure is expected to recover to around 15 million units in 2023 thanks to supply chain improvements.

An executive at Toyota Motor North America said that there have been gradual inventory improvements with raw material prices beginning to ease.