NEW YORK – Japanese carmaker Toyota led US automobile sales in 2021, according to figures released Tuesday, overtaking General Motors for the first time as a shortage of semiconductors roils the car industry.
The shift atop the rankings came after a year in which assembly lines were plagued by scarcity of the crucial computer chips, resulting in steep fourth-quarter sales declines for both companies.
But Toyota still managed to grow annual sales in the United States by 10.4 percent to 2.3 million, while General Motors suffered a 12.9 percent drop to 2.2 million.
Toyota, which has been credited with better management of the chip issue compared with some rivals, saw small annual gains…