The U.S. auto industry has been through a lot these last three years, forcing car executives, car dealers and car buyers to adjust on the fly and find new ways of doing business. Now it looks like many of those changes are here to stay.
The upheaval began in the early days of the Covid pandemic, when car companies halted work at their factories and the global supply chain froze up, preventing carmakers from getting many of the parts they needed. A global semiconductor shortage has constrained the supply of chips needed for core components, further limiting production.
But demand for new cars bounced back much quicker than anyone expected. All of sudden, Americans wanted cars, and dealership lots were mostly cleared out. The result: Buyers were willing to pay record sums for those vehicles that were available, fueling a stretch of highly profitable years for both car companies and auto retailers.
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