DETROIT, Michigan: Amidst concerns about a drop in car sales, statistics released this week reported that General Motors outsold Japanese automaker Toyota in the U.S. in the third quarter.

Due to a car supply shortage caused by logistical disruptions, as well as a preference for personal transport, consumers have spent more money, boosting the profits of automakers and auto dealers, despite fewer discounts.

However, as rising interest rates discourage consumers from paying more money for vehicles, analysts have warned that demand may fall in the coming quarters.

In an interview after Hyundai reported a 3 percent rise in vehicle sales, Randy Parker, the company's chief executive officer in North America, said, "We are cautiously optimistic about moving forward. There is a lot of negative consumer sentiment in the marketplace. So we are obviously concerned about that," as quoted by Reuters.

GM said that it sold 555,580 vehicles during the quarter, a rise of 24 percent compared with last year when inventory shortages affected sales. In the same period, Toyota's sales fell 7.1 percent lower at 526,017 vehicles.

In the first nine months of the year, GM outsold Toyota by some 80,000 vehicles.

However, after used-car retailer CarMax Inc's inflation warning last week, some analysts have been concerned about potential macroeconomic issues.

"Discounts may begin to materialize as economic conditions, rising interest rates and steady vehicle availability affect the imbalance of supply and demand over the coming quarters," said TrueCar analyst Zack Krelle, as reported by Reuters.