Competition in a diverse market
Worth over 75.9 billion U.S. dollars as of 2022, Tesla ranked first as the most valuable brand within the automotive sector worldwide, surpassing Toyota and Ford—the U.S. market leader. The American brand, worth just over 13.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, held over 13 percent of the U.S. light vehicle market shares during the second quarter of 2022. Ford was also the best-selling brand in the country in December 2021, followed by Toyota. The Japanese manufacturer was a direct competitor of Tesla on the luxury car market, though BMW edged out both brands in 2021 in unit sales. Lexus and BMW came second in terms of U.S. consumer satisfaction index score in 2021, with Ford three points behind. Chrysler, a division of the Netherlands-based Stellantis, was the brand recording the best initial quality in the U.S. as of July 2021. Audi and Volkswagen followed it.American brands held most of the market in the second quarter of 2022, with Ford, Chevrolet, and Jeep among the five brands with the most market shares. In contrast, European brands were becoming less popular outside the luxury market. Mercedes-Benz, the European brand with the largest U.S. sales, reported under 100,000 new vehicles sold in the U.S. market between April and June 2022, compared to just under 543,600 passenger vehicles for Ford.
Impact of the chip shortage on sales
In March 2022, Ford and General Motors reported halting production at two Michigan manufacturing plants due to the automotive semiconductor shortage. The monthly automotive inventory-to-sales ratio crashed in April 2020 and has yet to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the depleted chip supply. Average new vehicle prices shot up for manufacturers between December 2020 and 2021, with Ford recording an increase of over 4,000 U.S. dollars. Tight supply also remained an issue for many European and Asian brands, including Toyota, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz. The popularity of American brands in the U.S. market could be linked to their more extensive vehicle inventory as of June 2022.In North America, the slow recovery of automobile sales is expected to continue through 2022 without reaching pre-pandemic levels. Global forecasts come to a similar conclusion, suggesting further disruptions in the U.S. market and for U.S. automakers worldwide.
