New car sales plunged over the last three months in the United States despite strong demand, as the shortage of computer chips and other supply chain issues caused shutdowns at auto factories and choked off the supply of vehicles.

General Motors reported sales fell a third from a year-ago last quarter, and they were off 40% from the same quarter of 2019 before the pandemic roiled the car market. Sales at Stellantis, the company formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA Group, fell 19% from a year ago, and 27% from the pre-pandemic period. READ MORE