August 2006 Sales: General motors Corp

[Northstar]

http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet...n=2&docid=28297

GM Delivers 368,776 Vehicles; Retail Sales Up 8 Percent

# Sales Gains Driven By Launch Vehicles

# GM's Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Post Significant Increases: Pontiac G6 Up 35 Percent, Chevrolet Impala Up 29 Percent In Total Sales

# Full-Size Pickup Truck Retail Sales Up 27 Percent; Large Utilities Up 22 Percent

DETROIT - General Motors' dealers in the United States sold 368,776 new cars and trucks in August. Retail sales were up 8 percent on a sales day adjusted basis, compared with August 2005.

"August retail sales were up almost 30,000 units compared to last year. That's great news. This was one of the stronger retail months of 2006, with our performance led by such launch vehicles as the Pontiac Torrent and G6, Saturn Sky, Chevrolet Cobalt, Impala and Buick Lucerne," said Mark LaNeve, General Motors North America vice president, Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "Importantly, we're capitalizing on the sale of fuel-efficient cars and trucks including such "30 mpg and Above Club" members as Pontiac G6 coupe and G5, Chevy HHR, Cobalt, Malibu and Impala, and Saab 9-3. Our large pickup retail sales for Chevrolet Silverado, Avalanche and GMC Sierra were up 27 percent compared with a year ago. Customers clearly are responding to the quality, value, versatility and fuel efficiency of our cars and trucks. We encourage everyone in the new-vehicle market to take advantage of our Final Summer Bonus Cash sales event that runs through September 5."

Due to the success of new products, GM has seen sales strengthen over the last few months. GM market share on a retail basis has improved significantly in the last 90 days due to great launch vehicle performance and a broad-range of fuel-efficient vehicles.

Consistent with our North America turnaround plan, GM continues to run above 3 million retail units on an annualized basis.

GM also continues to reduce its reliance on low-margin daily rental sales. Daily rental sales were down 20 percent compared to year-ago levels, and were down 23 percent compared to July 2006. Total fleet sales (including daily rentals) were down 15 percent (14,112 vehicles) compared to year-ago levels.

Total GM U.S. retail passenger car sales are up 5 percent versus August last year, demonstrating that GM can compete in all product categories and take advantage of shifting consumer preferences.

Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, Saab and Buick all saw retail sales increases in August.

Buick Lucerne, Pontiac G6, Chevy Malibu and Impala drove the mid-car category. There were retail deliveries of 9,021 Buick Lucerne; 7,889 Pontiac G6 (up 18 percent) and 10,109 Chevy Impala (up 62 percent) vehicles last month.

Chevrolet retail sales were up 8 percent, to 144,640 vehicles, led by an 11-percent increase in retail truck deliveries. Chevrolet also had a 3-percent hike in retail car deliveries, driven by more than 60-percent increases in both Monte Carlo and Impala.

GMC retail sales were up 17 percent for August with 36,394 vehicles delivered, driven by 9,407 all-new 2007 Yukon and Yukon XL sales.

Cadillac retail sales were up 17 percent, to 17,062 vehicles, led by a 22-percent hike in retail trucks, including 3,762 all-new 2007 Escalade and Escalade ESV sales. There was a 13-percent rise in Cadillac retail car deliveries, including 4,041 CTS; 3,138 DTS; and 2,658 STS.

Saab delivered 3,157 retail vehicles in August, up 18 percent compared to last year. Saab 9-3 sales were up 39 percent retail.

Buick retail deliveries were up 10 percent, to 17,711 vehicles, powered by a 31-percent rise in retail car deliveries. There were 13,981 combined retail deliveries of LaCrosse and Lucerne, marking the third consecutive month exceeding 10,000 units.

Saturn retail car sales are up 5 percent compared with August 2005, with 8,677 vehicles delivered, including 1,073 Skys.

Chevrolet HHR and Equinox, Saturn Vue and Pontiac Torrent pushed total small utility sales up 18 percent compared with a year ago, and up 45 percent in the first eight months of the year compared to the same period a year ago. Chevrolet HHR saw a 62-percent increase in retail sales compared to last year and had CYTD deliveries of 53,208 vehicles. Chevrolet Equinox had one of its best retail sales months of the year with 7,737 deliveries.

On the truck side of the market, large pickup truck retail deliveries were up 27 percent with 43,185 Chevy Silverado and 16,530 GMC Sierra trucks sold. Chevy Avalanche retail sales were up 42 percent compared to a year ago. GMC had one of its best retail sales months of the year, with 36,394 vehicles delivered, a 17-percent increase from August 2005. There were 2,002 GMC Canyon retail deliveries. GM sold 5,214 all-new 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche; 11,144 Tahoe; 5,332 Suburban; 5,869 GMC Yukon; and 3,538 Yukon XL vehicles at retail in August.

HUMMER had its second-best total sales month of 2006 with 6,711 total deliveries. H3 led the charge, up 10 percent in total sales over August 2005 with its third best month since launch. CYTD total HUMMER sales of 46,497 vehicles were up 49 percent compared with the same eight months one year ago.

GM's luxury utilities also posted solid retail sales results in August, with the all-new 2007 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV and Cadillac SRX. August was the best retail sales month of the year for large utilities, up 22 percent retail; large luxury utilities were up 17 percent.

GM sports cars also posted very strong August retail sales results, with a 93-percent improvement compared with year-ago levels. Corvette retail sales were up 31 percent, with 2,984 vehicles delivered. Pontiac Solstice (1,515 vehicles) and Saturn Sky (1,073 vehicles) are continuing their brisk retail sales pace.

LaNeve was very encouraged by strong June, July and August sales performances, led by GM's launch vehicles and passenger cars. "Offering industry-leading products with best-in-class features and outstanding fuel economy means we are doing the right thing for the customer. We are seeing a continuing stability in our sales and positive momentum."

Certified Used Vehicles

August sales for all certified GM brands, including GM Certified Used Vehicles, Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles and HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, were 44,717 units, down 12 percent from last August. Total year-to-date certified GM sales are 347,596 units, down nearly 4 percent from the same period last year.

GM Certified Used Vehicles, the industry's top-selling certified pre-owned brand, posted 38,123 sales in August, down 13 percent from August 2005. Year-to-date sales for GM Certified Used Vehicles are 300,205 units, down 2 percent.

Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles posted 3,609 sales in August, up 4 percent from last August. Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 1,976 units, down 30.5 percent. Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 928 units, up 2 percent. In its eighth month of operation, HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned sold 81 units.

"Although August sales were challenging, the industry's top-selling certified brand, GM Certified Used Vehicles, increased sales 14 percent over July, while both Cadillac and Saab Certified Pre Owned Vehicles showed positive year-to-year gains in August," said LaNeve.

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The Lucerne had a great month and the LaCrosse did OK.

The CTS did well, and the STS was close to last year's numbers. The Escalade line churned out 5500 sales!

The new Aveo seems to have gotten off to a quick start, and the Cobalt and Impala were both strong. Chevy truck sales were up a surprising 11k units, with the Tahoe, HHR, Equinox, Avalanche, and Silverado all posting strong results.

GMC was also up 6% even with $3/gallon gas.

The G6 seems to be getting a boost from the convertible and coupe, and the Solstice continues to do well.

Aura sales were less than I was expecting, but it's still very early on; the Sky did well.

The H3 is doing very well for Hummer, and sales should improve in the future with the addition of a V8 model.

[bowtie_dude]

Great job, GM! Amazing what competitive product can do for your marketshare, eh?

[Drew Dowdell]

I say again, how much longer can the Cobalt be considered a "Launch vehicle"?

[I hope GMRULES again]

I love how their BS press release tries to paint a pretty picture. These numbers are brutal. Check out the YTD column, there's more - there than a January weather forecast. Down 12% or 400k units for the year.

Edited September 2, 2006 by I hope GMRULES again

[Northstar]

I love how their BS press release tries to paint a pretty picture. These numbers are brutal. Check out the YTD column, there's more - there than a January weather forecast. Down 12% or 400k units for the year.

188102[/snapback]

Yes, but how much of that is because of the Employee discount last year? Also, they might make some of it up because everyone who wants to buy a car hasn't already done so like last year.

[thegriffon]

None. Total sales for 2005 were down 5% compared to 2004. Compared to the 2004 figures for August, GM was down 10.6% p.a. last month. I.e. by August 2005 GM was suffering a shortfall in stock and sharply lower sales. Of course, this time last year GM was still selling Oldsmobiles and a few other models which have been or are being cut.

By Brand %change to 2005 for August (annualized, DSR)
from       2005   2004
Buick     -4.7%  -16.1%
Cadillac   0.2%   -8.5%
Chevrolet  1.3%  -11.6%
GMC        7.0%  -18.5%
Hummer     1.5%   63.7% (H3)
Pontiac  -12.1%   -1.1%
Saab      11.9%   -4.3%
Saturn     5.3%   12.2%

[Shantanu]

GM has a lot less incentives than Ford or Chrysler. Their sales are pretty decent, although they could be better.

I think GM has caught a lucky break with the declining fuel prices before the introduction of their new trucks. That will help in the coming months.

[GMman]

I love how their BS press release tries to paint a pretty picture. These numbers are brutal. Check out the YTD column, there's more - there than a January weather forecast. Down 12% or 400k units for the year.

188102[/snapback]

I think they've got to stop the bleeding before they can begin to heal. The picture begins to be pretty when you look at where they were heading compared to where they're heading now.

The plan they implemented is working and they've turned the corner. Things should only get better in the future with all the vehicles thay have planned. By contrast, Ford is hurting and their plan isn't working so good.

[Newbiewar]

looks like year to date... toyota is beating chevy by about 18k units... lets hope we can crank out another americas favorite brand title...

hopefully the silverado will blow up the 4th quarters sales...

[jbartley]

i like how ESV sales have almost doubled! weeee.

[sciguy_0504]

GM has a lot less incentives than Ford or Chrysler.  Their sales are pretty decent, although they could be better.

188261[/snapback]

I've noticed a big downfall in GM incentives and incentive advertising. I love it.

[Northstar]

looks like year to date... toyota is beating chevy by about 18k units... lets hope we can crank out another americas favorite brand title...

hopefully the silverado will blow up the 4th quarters sales...

188640[/snapback]

Toyota groups their sales with Scion, though. I don't think Autonews or Polk would combine them for the "official" sales at the end of the year. Also, Ford is ahead of both I believe.

[toesuf94]

This is great news when you compare it to cross town rival Ford - GM's truck sales are UP while Fords continue to fall every month - and Ford is selling with HUGE incentives, GM is not! Yes, the GMC and Chevy trucks (outgoing) have 0% - but without discount incentives on top of them like the Fords.

Yeah, sales could be better, but when you compare with the other US makers, GM is turning out some great numbers.

[Newbiewar]

what is the auras yearly production estimates?

is 1500 a good sales amount for first month?

[trinacriabob]

I'll make my W-body observation...since that's "my" model.

LaCrosse sales are down and Grand Prix sales are down even more.

However, Impala sales are up and Monte Carlo sales tripled in August while the year to date total looks about the same.

What's with that?

[Robert Hall]

I'll make my W-body observation...since that's "my" model.

LaCrosse sales are down and Grand Prix sales are down even more.

However, Impala sales are up and Monte Carlo sales tripled in August while the year to date total looks about the same.

What's with that?

196978[/snapback]

Part of it probably is that the Impala and MC were reworked for '06, while the GP is in it's 3rd year since its last redo, the LaCrosse in its 2nd..

Edited September 23, 2006 by moltar