New auto sales improved in 2021, but still a long way before full recovery
U.S. new vehicle sales rebounded slightly last year from 2020′s dismal numbers, but were still about 2 million below the years before the coronavirus pandemic.
The reason? Although there are plenty of customers who want to buy new vehicles at hefty prices, there still aren’t enough computer chips for the industry to fully crank up its factories. So supplies are short, prices are high, and many customers can’t get what they want.
Sales hit just over 15 million vehicles in 2021, up 3.4% from 2020, the year the pandemic took hold in the U.S.
"Demand is not off at all," analyst says. "What is off is sales, because the inventory doesn’t exist."
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