DETROIT, Michigan: General Motors reported on Friday that its new vehicle sales in the U.S. plummeted 33 percent from the year-ago period, largely due to the global shortage of semiconductor chips, which has left the company with unprecedented low inventories of autos.

In the most recent reporting period, General Motors sold 446,997 vehicles in the U.S., compared with 665,192 one year ago.

"The semiconductor supply disruptions that impacted our third-quarter wholesale and customer deliveries are improving," said Steve Carlisle, executive vice president and president of GM North America. "As we look to the fourth quarter, a steady flow of vehicles held at plants will continue to be released to dealers, we are restarting production at key crossover and car plants, and we look forward to a more stable operating environment through the fall," as reported by the Detroit Free Press.

Meanwhile, Toyota Motor North America reported a slight sales increase in the quarter of 1.4 percent, selling 566,005 vehicles, while Stellantis, formerly called Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, said its U.S. sales declined 19 percent to 410,917 vehicles for the quarter, compared with the year-ago third quarter.

Semiconductor chips used in various car parts are in short supply due, in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought increased demand for personal electronics that the chips are used in.

"Sales have continued to slide downward each month because there simply aren't enough of the vehicles that shoppers want," said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds' executive director of insights. "The entire U.S. auto industry - including the Asian manufacturers, which were doing a bit better than their domestic counterparts until recently - is in an incredibly volatile position right now, and we are seeing inflated retail prices across the board," as reported by the Detroit Free Press.

GM has kept the factories that build its highest-profit and most-popular vehicles- big SUVs and pickups - running by cutting production on other models, mostly smaller SUVs and sedans.

Sales of GM's redesigned full-size SUVs all increased, but total sales in GM's largest volume brand, Chevrolet, decreased by 36 percent to 287,925 vehicles sold.

Last quarter, GM reported a 40 percent increase in sales compared with the year-ago quarter.

Stating that volatility can continue through the rest of the year, Edmunds' Caldwell said car shoppers will need to do extra research, be flexible, and expect higher prices and increased competition if they need to make a new vehicle purchase soon.

In fact, GM recently said more of its dealers are no longer honoring corporate discount programs, such as employee, supplier and friends and family plans. Also, Stellantis has told dealers to stop offering certain corporate discounts on specific 2021 Dodge, Jeep and Ram models.

"If you do need to get into a new vehicle ... it's best to bite the bullet and make the purchase immediately," said Ivan Drury, Edmunds' senior manager of insights. "Don't wait, as the situation could get worse, and don't try to pit dealers against one another for the best price: You'll more than likely end up empty-handed because there will likely be plenty of other shoppers vying for the same vehicle."

On the bright side, as of Thursday, most of GM's North American assembly plants were scheduled to be running at normal production levels next week. The plants that remain down because of the semiconductor chip shortage are in Canada and Mexico, mostly building the Chevrolet Blazer and Equinox mid-size SUV.

"Although the situation remains complex and very fluid, we remain confident in our team's ability to continue finding creative solutions to minimize the impact on our highest-demand and capacity constrained vehicles," said GM spokesman David Barnas.