Why car prices are still so high — and why they are unlikely to fall anytime soon

Brand-new Nissan vehicles sit on a sales lot in Richmond, Calif., on July 9, 2021. Car prices surged during the pandemic, and despite coming down from their peak, they still remain higher than a few years ago. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

It has been nearly three years since auto plants around the world started to shut down because of the pandemic.

Yet between the pandemic, an acute shortage of semiconductors and other supply chain snarls, vehicle production has never really returned to normal.