GM Vehicle Sales Tumble 15 Percent as Chip Crunch, Supply Snags Drag

General Motors Co. reported a 15 percent drop in second-quarter auto sales on Friday, as a global chip shortage and supply chain disruptions hit production and left nearly 100,000 vehicles waiting for more parts.The U.S. auto industry is struggling to keep up with pent-up consumer demand for new cars as it struggles to ramp up production due to the chip shortage, a labor crunch, and problems related to supply chain logjams.
GM, which lost its crown as the sales leader last year for the first time since 1931 to Toyota, said it sold 582,401 vehicles in the quarter through June versus 688,236 vehicles last year.
The Detroit automaker, however, is still expected to be the top new vehicle seller in the quarter, according to Cox Automotive, as industry-wide disruptions crimp inventory at other major automakers.
GM also said it was expecting a net income of between $1.6 billion and $1.9 billion in the second quarter. Analyst on average are estimating a profit of $2.56 billion, according to Refinitiv data. It was not immediately clear if the figures were comparable.
Automakers are set to report U.S. new-vehicle sales for three months through June on Friday and Tue …