The auto industry has faced unprecedented challenges over the past couple of years. One result of the global pandemic has been an industry-wide shortage of crucial semiconductor chips. Without these chips, vehicles cannot complete final assembly. Sometimes, features have been removed. Carmakers have since had to prioritize their lineups. For General Motors, that means trucks and SUVs. And despite everything that's been happening, GMC is on track to achieve record sales of the Sierra 1500 and Sierra HD trucks. A major mid-life facelift is due for 2022.

GMC and Buick global vice president Duncan Aldred revealed this week that sales have "done very well. We believe we can still have an all-time sales record on the Sierra."

He confirmed what everyone suspected: "When we get chips, we generally put them in Sierra and Yukons and we've managed quite well through that [chip shortage] this year. We expect an improvement next year." GM's trucks are currently built at three plants in North America but by the end of the year, the automaker aims to restart its Oshawa Assembly plant located in Ontario. Both the Sierra and its corporate cousin, the Chevy Silverado, are assembled there.

Aldred reiterated that GMC dealerships will still have to operate under the so-called "deliver-to-order" plan since demand continues to outweigh supply. This isn't expected to change in the immediate future. GMC dealers aren't complaining too much.

Many are reporting they're selling each and every example they get in. A majority of trucks are actually presold. Some icing on the cake is that these Sierras are pricier trims like the AT4 and Denali. Both begin at around $55,000. Aldred also confirmed production won't be cut for lower-trim models even though they're less profitable.

In the first three quarters of this year, Sierra light- and heavy-duty sales were up nearly 10 percent compared to the same period a year prior. A total of 253,016 Sierras were sold in 2020. That's the figure GMC officials aim to beat by the end of December. Yukon sales also remain stellar. Through September, sales are up by an astonishing 55 percent.