Toyota Eclipses GM As America’s Top Selling Automaker

The 90 year GM reign as America’s top selling automaker ended in 2021 as Toyota snatched a 114,034 unit edge on total US vehicle sales.

Auto industry observers point to critical product mix decisions made by GM and Toyota respectively in the past decade to account for the shift. With light trucks, SUVs and Crossovers outselling sedans 3 to 1, General Motors four brands now offer only three sedans, a single subcompact and the venerable Corvette and Camaro performance models.

Meanwhile Toyota and Lexus have burnished their acclaimed selection of light Trucks, SUVs and Crossovers, while updating perennial top selling vehicles in the sedan and small car categories like the Toyota Camry, Avalon and Corolla, and the Lexus LS, ES and IS luxury and sport sedans.

GM greeted this milestone by doubling down on the future of electric trucks revealing the new all EV Chevrolet Silverado, the GMC Hummer EV and a sweeping program of full line electrification.

GM management increasingly views the auto industry’s penchant for chasing market share stats and vehicle category titles, as an anachronism, focusing instead on strong bottom line results.