GM Narrowly Wrestles U.S. Sales Crown Back from Toyota for 2022

• GM passed Toyota in 2022 U.S. auto sales, recording 2.2 million units sold.
• Toyota had beaten GM in 2021, dethroning the American automaker from the top spot for the first time since 1931.
• Chevy’s Silverado pickup was the best-selling GM model, while the RAV4 was the top Toyota.

Order has been restored in the U.S. auto sales race. After Toyota’s 2021 total put it ahead of General Motors, breaking GM’s longstanding winning streak that stood since 1931, the American automaker once again overtook its Japanese rival in 2022. GM sold 2,274,088 units in 2022, recapturing the number one spot with a winning margin of 165,630 units.

Three of GM’s four brands saw year-over-year increases in 2022, with Buick being the only brand to decline, by 42 percent. Chevrolet sales grew by 6 percent, GMC sales by 7 percent, and Cadillac sales by 13 percent. Unsurprisingly, the Chevy Silverado full-size pickup was the top seller, with 513,354 units sold, but other mainstream Chevrolet models including the Equinox SUV (up 28 percent to 212,072 units) and Malibu sedan (up 193 percent to 115,467 units) increased significantly compared with 2021. GM credited strong demand combined with additional manufacturing capacity for its overall 2.5 percent increase compared with 2021.

Toyota, meanwhile, declined pretty much across the board, citing continued parts shortages that forced it to adjust its production plans downward throughout the year. The Toyota brand was down 9 percent, and the Lexus luxury brand was down 15 percent. The only high-volume model within Toyota’s portfolio that gain sales compared with last year was the Tundra full-size pickup, which recorded 104,246 sales, an increase of 27 percent. The RAV4 compact crossover was Toyota’s top seller, with 399,941 units sold, a 2 percent decrease compared with 2021.

As more sales reports come in, we’ll be updating our list of the top 25 best-selling models, so stay tuned.