Lucas Bell 
Last month, all three of Detroit’s automakers really started to feel the impact of the global semiconductor chip shortage. The lack of chips has caused production issues to continue across North America, resulting in automakers like Ford and GM asking for help from the federal government in limiting the scope of the problem. And while these extended production delays will certainly impact dealer stock in the months to come, March itself wasn’t actually that bad of a month for one automaker in particular. According to a new report from iSeeCars, General Motors took over the list of the top 20 fastest-selling vehicles last month, once again bolstered by the C8 Corvette, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade.
The news comes by way of an iSeeCars study, which analyzed over 1.5 million new and used car sales last month. The study found that both new and used cars started selling at a faster rate than the month before, requiring an average of 47.4 days and 39.4 days to move off dealer lots, respectively. The publication notes that this was likely spurred on by another round of stimulus checks, as well as fears of an upcoming supply shortage at dealerships across the nation. General Motors performed better than any other automaker in March, with five GM vehicles ranking in the top 10 spots.
For the third consecutive month, the C8 Corvette has managed to take home the title as the fastest selling vehicle in the United States. In fact, March saw GM’s mid-engined sports car sell at a faster rate than in either of the two months prior, spending an average of just 9.4 days at the dealer before finding a new home. That compares to figures of 13.1 days in February, and 10 days in January. The average sales price of a new C8 Corvette sold came in at $82,457, which is over $4,000 less than it was last month.
Behind the C8 Corvette, General Motors saw their luxury full-size SUVs have a stellar sales performance in March. The GMC Yukon XL managed to capture the fourth spot, with an average time to sell of just 14.3 days. The long-wheelbase Cadillac Escalade ESV captured fifth place, while the standard Escalade followed up in sixth. Both Cadillac Escalade models needed just 15.2 and 15.6 days to leave dealer lots, respectively. The standard GMC Yukon rounded out GM’s top-10 effort, coming in at ninth place while needing 17.5 days to sell.
March then was a solid showing for GM, further highlighting their dominance over the full-size SUV segment here in the States. As the global semiconductor chip shortage continues however, things may start to shake up during next month’s report. That said, it will be interesting to see if the C8 Corvette can hold onto it’s crown for a fourth consecutive month as General Motors tries to keep production issues related to the sports car to a minimum. Those buyers have already had to deal with more than their fair share of headaches.
