DETROIT — Toyota Motor Corp. believes the microchip shortage that's plagued the U.S. auto industry is likely to remain for an extended period, even as sales in the U.S. continue to slowly rebound, according to the Japanese automaker's head of sales.
Jack Hollis, in his first year as executive vice president of sales for Toyota Motor North America, said he sees the industry finishing 2022 at 14 million new vehicle sales in the U.S., with a recovery in 2023 to 15 million as production continues to struggle through supply shortages in microchips and other components.
Early on Thursday, Toyota said its November U.S. sales rose 10 percent to 169,226 vehicles. Deliveries for the first 11 months fell 11 percent to 1.9 million vehicles.
"For 2023, we think we're really going up another million vehicles, which is great, because if you look at where we've been so supply constrained, to see there being growth and a path to growth I think is going to be encouraging for everybody in the industry," Hollis told Automotive News Thursday ahead of the automaker's annual holiday party for Detroit media.
Hollis acknowledged that Toyota hasn't had much success guessing when restrictions on semiconductors will lift, and said the industry shows no sign of pulling back on its demand for technology.