A global shortage of computer chips and other parts forced General Motors to build 95,000 cars without certain components in the second quarter.
The Detroit automaker said in a regulatory filing Friday that most of the unfinished cars were built in June and it expects most of them to be completed and sold to dealers before the end of the year.
Unsold vehicles accounted for 16 percent of GM’s total sales from April through June. The company said Friday it sold more than 582,000 vehicles in the quarter, down more than 15 percent from a year earlier.
In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson said only a small percentage of those vehicles, which are due to be completed at a later date, are reserved for Canadian dealers.
The company reaffirmed its guidance for full-year net income of $9.6 billion to $11.2 billion, with pretax profits of $13 billion to $15 billion. For the first time, the company forecast it would make $2.3 billion to $2.6 billion before taxes in the second quarter. That missed analysts’ estimates of $3.97 billion, according to FactSet.
Chip shortages have plagued automakers around the world since 2020, forcing many automakers to temporarily close factories and cut production. The shortage has limited the supply of new vehicles on US dealer lots to about 1 million, when in normal years they are about 4 million at any given time.
That pushed prices to record highs and limited vehicle choices, but it also led to strong profits for most automakers.
In a prepared statement, GM said its North American production has been relatively stable since the third quarter of last year, but short-term parts outages continue.
“We are actively working with our suppliers to resolve issues as they arise to meet the pent-up customer demand for our vehicles,” the statement said.
Most automakers forecast a slight improvement in chip shortages in the first half of the year, with much better supplies from July to December.
GM shares fell slightly to $31.69 in Friday morning trading after the document was released.
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