January 2022 U.S. auto sales: Hyundai sales rebound, Kia slips again as chip shortage weighs on output

Hyundai snapped a five-month losing streak with a 10 percent gain in January U.S. sales while volume dropped for the sixth straight month at Kia as the microchip shortage and other supply-chain disruptions continue to upend industry stockpiles.

Retail deliveries rose 18 percent, offsetting zero fleet shipments last month, Hyundai said. The company set a January record with 47,872 deliveres largely behind four models — Venue, up 70 percent; Tucson, up 64 percent; Palisade, up 12 percent; and Ioniq, up 51 percent — that also posted record deliveries for the month.

Hyundai said it ended the month with 18,060 cars and light trucks, down from 21,420 at the close of December and 151,930 at the end of Jan. 2021.

Kia volume slid 5.5 percent to 42,488 mostly on sharply weaker Soul, Seltos and Forte deliveries.

Genesis racked up its 14th straight gain with January sales rising 29 percent to 3,638 behind deliveries of the new GV70 crossover.

Overall, light-vehicle sales across the industry are projected to fall 9 to 16 percent last month, based on forecasts from J.D. Power-LMC Automotive, Cox Automotive and TrueCar.

Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Subaru and Mazda are scheduled to release January results later Tuesday, followed by Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday. The rest of the industry reports U.S. sales quarterly.

J.D. Power said new-vehicle supplies have not improved meaningfully, with retail inventory remaining below one million units for the eighth-straight month in January.

While the month is typically one of the weakest of the year, tight availability and robust consumer demand mean average transaction prices will reach $44,905, a January record, J.D. Power said.

With chips in short supply, automakers continue to prioritize retail sales over fleet customers, as well as larger, more profitable light trucks over cars and smaller vehicles, helping to further pad profits.

New-vehicle inventory last month fell 61 percent from January 2021 levels, resulting in 1.2 million fewer cars and light trucks available at the start of 2022, compared to early 2021, Cox Automotive said.

Analysts and automakers have warned the microchip shortage will undermine production and sales well into the second half of the year.

U.S. sales rose 3.3 percent to 15.06 million in 2021, and industry forecasts for 2022 deliveries range from 15.2 million (Edmunds) to as high as 16.4 million to 16.6 million (Toyota Motor Corp.) Most forecasters see the market this year coming in at 15.4 million to 15.5 million, with a bounce coming in the second half as inventories slowly recover.