Who would have thought? Things are so bad on the new car market that people are out there buying a new Chevy Impala. However, if you ask the people at GM how 2021 went with new car sales, it wasn’t that bad. Take a look at how the automaker’s year went and how it plans to retain its rightful spot at the top in 2022.

The new car sales numbers don’t lie: nine Chevy Impala sedans sold in 2021

In the press release from GM about quarter-four deliveries in 2021, all of the vehicles are listed. Chevrolet sold 288,647 new cars last year. In 2020, that number was 522,136, a 44.7% drop in sales year over year. The usual suspects are listed, with the Chevy Silverado truck leading sales. The Colorado truck and Tahoe were also big sellers.

In 2020, the brand sold 1,028 Chevy Impala sedans throughout the year. That number went down to only nine vehicles sold in 2021, down 99.1% year over year. That isn’t to say there is anything wrong with the Impala, specifically. It just hasn’t been redesigned in almost a decade and doesn’t have a lot of modern details.

But with the way the new car market, and the used car market, are both currently at all-time highs, does it make sense? Interestingly enough, the last Impala was built back in 2020. That means even though this was a new car, it wasn’t really all that new. If buyers can find a Chevy Impala for MSRP, why not buy it? Most new cars have been priced out of a normal households range.

Most new cars are selling above MSRP right now, but GM had an alright year

In the press release from GM, there were some more surprises. The GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Tahoe, and Suburban were up 26% last year. Sales for the Cadillac Escalade were also up 65% over 2020. General Motors delivered 2.2 million vehicles in 2021, leading the way with full-size and midsize pickup truck sales.

“All year we focused on delivering as many of our high demand, capacity-constrained products as possible and the strategy worked.”

Steve Carlisle, GM executive vice president and president, GM North America

The Chevy Silverado offered GM a helpful boost with a total of 115,376 total sales. In 2020, that number was 179,444, an increase of 35.7% percent. The Chevrolet Silverado Medium Duty, specifically, saw a 39% increase. Year over year, GM saw sales slump about 13% overall. For the first time, Toyota bumped GM from the top for the sale of new cars.

Supply chain issues remain a problem, but there is hope

The new car sales numbers don’t look so bad on paper, but 2022 has a lot of things to look forward to. With GM, the electric vehicle lineup is kicking into overdrive. The GMC Hummer EV is rolling out, along with the Cadillac LYRIQ, Chevy Silverado EV, and even the new GMC Sierra EV.

Elaine Buckberg, GM chief economist, says, “Consumers want to drive as much as before the pandemic, based on recent high levels of vehicle usage. High vehicle usage and deferred sales mean pent-up demand for new vehicles in the millions and building. That pent-up demand will support sales as vehicle supply improves.”

GM plans to stay ahead of the other competitors in the truck segment and has led the full-size truck segment since 2003. So if people needed to buy a Chevy Impala this year and didn’t pay a ridiculous price for it, no harm done. It didn’t help GM beat Toyota in sales, but nine Impalas sold is better than none.