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By Aishwarya Nair

(Reuters) –     General Motors Co outsold Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp in the United States in the third quarter, data on Monday showed, but analysts and investors are fretting that a darkening economic picture will lead to a drop in car sales.

Thus far, a shortage of cars due to supply disruptions, co*bined with a preference for personal transport, has seen consumers willing to shell out more money, largely protecting profits at automakers and auto dealers who have pulled back on discounts.

But analysts now warn demand may lose steam in the co*ing quarters as rising interest rates discourage consumers from paying more money for cars and trucks in the co*ing months.

“We’re cautiously optimistic about moving forward. There’s a lot of negative consumer sentiment in the marketplace. So we’re obviously concerned about that,” Randy Parker, chief executive officer of Hyundai Motor North America, said in an interview on Monday.

GM said it sold 555,580 vehicles in the quarter through September, 24% higher than last year when inventory shortages hit sales.

The Detroit automaker, whose shares rose 2.6% in morning trade, added it would boost production of its Chevrolet Bolt electric models in response to higher demand.

Shipping finished-vehicles to consumers proved to be another headache for the industry in the quarter. Tesla Inc shares fell on Monday after it sold fewer-than-expected vehicles in the third quarter as deliveries lagged way behind production due to logistic hurdles.

Toyota’s sales fell 7.1% to 526,017 vehicles in the same period, the automaker said, adding that it “did not face any shipping issues”.

Supply issues, however, dragged down sales of Fiat Chrysler 6%.

“We are paying close attention to how the industry will react to these concerns. Perhaps there will be more incentives, longer finance terms, or a co*bination of these,” said TrueCar analyst Zack Krelle.

Auto industry consultant Cox Automotive said U.S. automakers may sell more vehicles in the third quarter over Japanese brands, which are still struggling with inventory issues.

Another consultant Edmunds said a total of 3,393,988 new cars and trucks will be sold in the United States in the quarter, a 0.9% decrease from a year earlier.

GM said it plans to increase calendar-year production of both Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV for global markets to more than 70,000 in 2023 from about 44,000 vehicles in 2022.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Nathan Gomes; Editing by Maju Samuel)