September 2014: General Motors Co.

[William Maley]

GM’s Sales Climbed 19 percent in September

• GM has industry’s best-selling pickups for second month in a row
• Chevrolet Cruze up 45 percent
• GMC sales increase 28 percent
• Buick Encore is the industry’s best-selling small crossover
• Cadillac Escalade sales more than double

DETROIT – General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) dealers delivered 223,437 vehicles in the United States in September. Total deliveries were up 19 percent compared with a year ago. Retail deliveries, which are sales to individual consumers, were up 17 percent. Fleet deliveries were up 30 percent, including the 11^thconsecutive monthly increase in commercial sales.

 

“GM saw strength almost across the board in September, and outpaced the industry with the newest trucks and SUVs at exactly the right time,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of Sales Operations. “We will have improved availability of heavy-duty pickups and large SUVs in the months ahead, and the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon are arriving in showrooms as we speak. This sets us up to finish the year on a very strong note.”

 

Exceptionally strong sales of trucks and crossovers helped GM earn average transaction prices (ATPs) of about $34,600, the highest in company history, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates. ATPs were up about $1,200 per unit compared with August, and they were up about $2,500 per unit from a year ago.

 

Nearly 80 percent of retail customers who bought a large SUV during September purchased a Chevrolet or GMC product. In addition, the Chevrolet Silverado had its best retail sales month since 2008 and GM’s estimated share of the retail market for large pickups increased 5 percentage points from a year ago to close to 40 percent. 

 

In the medium crossover segment, combined sales of the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave were up 31 percent. GM compact car deliveries were also up 30 percent, and year-to-date sales were the highest since 2005.

 

September Sales Highlights (vs. 2013 except as noted)

• Chevrolet deliveries increased 20 percent, with Silverado up 54 percent, Suburban up 50 percent, Traverse up 45 percent, Cruze up 45 percent, Sonic up 14 percent and Equinox up 12 percent. Corvette deliveries nearly tripled.
• GMC deliveries were up 28 percent, including a 25 percent increase for Sierra and a 16 percent increase for Terrain. Yukon sales nearly doubled and Yukon XL was up 64 percent.
• Sales of the new Cadillac Escalade more than doubled, helping the brand deliver results equal to a year ago.
• Buick deliveries increased 12 percent, with Enclave up 36 percent, Encore up 20 percent, Verano up 6 percent and Regal up 5 percent. The Encore has been the industry’s best-selling small SUV for six months in a row.
• The first deliveries of the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon occurred in September and availability will grow throughout the fall. GM has announced plans to add a third shift at its Wentzville, Mo., assembly plant in early 2015 to meet expected demand for both mid-size pickups and full-size vans.
• Incentive spending as a percentage of ATPs was 11.1 percent, up 0.2 percentage points from August but the lowest of all domestic automakers by a significant margin, according to PIN. GM’s calendar-year-to-date spending as a percentage of ATPs is 10.7 percent, down 0.3 points, while industry spending is 10.0 percent, up 0.4 points.

GM posted a 25 percent gain in commercial sales driven by pickups and vans, which were up 6 percent and 46 percent, respectively. Sales to rental customers were up about 35 percent due to timing. Sales to government customers were up about 17 percent. Year to date, commercial sales are up 24 percent, rental deliveries are up 3 percent and government deliveries are down 2 percent.

 

[regfootball]

Cadillac is up by one unit.  Must be because of the new guy and the new naming scheme.

[Robert Hall]

Cadillac is up by one unit. Must be because of the new guy and the new naming scheme.

Too soon. Wait until the new naming scheme is implemented. Then sales will really take off.

[smk4565]

Cadillac sedan sales are in the tank again.  Huge month for the Silverado.  What amazes me is that the Lambdas continue to be strong sellers and most of them date back to around 2008 or so.  America has such a thirst for SUVs and pickups, I think they will buy them no matter what gas costs.

[A Horse With No Name]

Until there is a major petroleum crunch and then people will not be able to give them away.

[Drew Dowdell]

Cadillac sedan sales are in the tank again.  Huge month for the Silverado.  What amazes me is that the Lambdas continue to be strong sellers and most of them date back to around 2008 or so.  America has such a thirst for SUVs and pickups, I think they will buy them no matter what gas costs.

 

The Lambas on sale today are barely 2 years old. They were extensively refreshed for MY2013, basically all new inside and out with only the second/third row seating being largely carry over. The engines were tweaked and the transmission innards were completely replaced.

 

The continue to be strong sellers because they are pretty much the biggest in their class without going to a BOF SUV and you don't take a MPG hit. 98% of a Tahoe inside without the cost or fuel economy penalty is a pretty good reason.

[VenSeattle]

Congrats to the Encore being a runaway success! It looks like Enclave is on pace to beat last year's sales total. Ther Verano is outselling the Acura ILX more than 2to1. I look forward to see how the Envision is received here in the US. It's not official yet, but it'd be crazy for GM not to sell it here in the US. 

[ocnblu]

Whoa, look who it is!  Hey Ven.

[daves87rs]

Sales not too bad.....