Nov. 2006 Sales: General Motors Corp

[Mr.Krinkle]

VIEW SALES CHART HERE

GM U.S. Retail Sales Up 11 Percent, Total Sales Up 6 Percent Compared With Last Year

• GM's U.S. Divisions Deliver 297,556 Vehicles In November
• Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado and GMC Sierra Pickup Trucks On The Move --
• Large Pickup Retail Sales Up 29 Percent
• New Tahoe, Yukon, and Escalade Push Full-Size Utilities Total Sales Up 73 Percent
• Planned Daily Rental Fleet Reductions Impact Q1 2007 Production Forecast

DETROIT - General Motors dealers in the United States sold 297,556 new cars and trucks in November, a 6 percent increase compared with last year. Beginning with the 2007 model year in September, retail sales are up 13 percent while retail sales for November were up 11 percent compared to a year ago. Retail truck sales were up 17 percent, led by a 29 percent increase in large pickup retail sales such as Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra and a 36 percent increase in luxury utility retail sales, including triple-digit retail increases for the entire Cadillac Escalade lineup. Retail car sales were up 1 percent, led by Chevrolet Impala, Buick Lucerne, Pontiac G5, Saturn Aura and Cadillac CTS.

"We continue to experience strong customer demand for our lineup of fuel efficient vehicles and new launch products. In a challenging market, we are pleased to be gaining momentum with our truck lineup, which we attribute to offering the best fuel economy and the best warranty in the segment, " said Mark LaNeve, General Motors North America vice president, Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "Importantly, sales were solid throughout the month with dealers driving traffic with our annual year-end Red Tag Event." The Red Tag Event runs through January 2, 2007.

GMC, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, Saab and Saturn all had retail sales increases in November.

• GMC was up 23 percent retail, compared with a year ago, with double-digit sales increases for the Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL.
• Cadillac retail sales were up 26 percent, with a 15 percent increase in CTS and triple-digit increases for the entire Escalade lineup.
• Chevrolet retail sales were up 9 percent, with retail increases by Silverado, up 23 percent; Tahoe, up 50 percent; and Suburban, up 36 percent.
• Buick retail sales were up 38 percent, led by Lucerne which saw a sales increase of more than 6,000 vehicles compared with last November.
• Saab retail sales were up 25 percent, driven by a 87 percent hike for 9-5, a 64 percent rise for 9-7X and a 11 percent retail increase for 9-3.
• Saturn retail sales were up 14 percent as the all-new 2007 Aura and Sky continue to bring new customers into the Saturn family.

"Our Manufacturing team worked extremely hard on a high-quality launch and has already produced more than 50,000 new 2007 Chevy Silverados and GMC Sierras, " LaNeve added. "This accelerated launch means we are in the marketplace 13 weeks ahead of schedule - and most importantly - ahead of the competition with the best quality, fuel economy and value in the important full-size pickup segment."

GM continues to reduce its reliance on daily rental sales. Sales to daily rental companies were down 13 percent compared to year-ago levels, while non-daily rental fleet business was up 5 percent. Overall fleet sales of 80,452 vehicles were down 7 percent compared with last November.

[Mr.Krinkle]

DETROIT - General Motors dealers in the United States sold 297,556 new cars and trucks in November, a 6 percent increase compared with last year. Beginning with the 2007 model year in September, retail sales are up 13 percent and while retail sales for November were up 11 percent compared to a year ago. Retail truck sales were up 17 percent, led by a 29 percent increase in large pickup retail sales such as Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra and a 36 percent increase in luxury utility retail sales, including triple-digit retail increases for the entire Cadillac Escalade lineup. Retail car sales were up 1 percent, led by Chevrolet Impala, Buick Lucerne, Pontiac G5, Saturn Aura and Cadillac CTS.

GMC, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, Saab and Saturn all had retail sales increases in November. GMC was up 23 percent retail, compared with a year ago, with double-digit sales increases for the Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL. Cadillac retail sales were up 26 percent, with a 15 percent increase in CTS and triple-digit increases for the entire Escalade lineup. Chevrolet retail sales were up 9 percent, with retail increases by Silverado, up 23 percent; Tahoe, up 50 percent; and Suburban, up 36 percent. Buick retail sales were up 38 percent, led by Lucerne which saw a sales increase of more than 6,000 vehicles compared with last November. Saab retail sales were up 25 percent, driven by a 87 percent hike for 9-5, a 64 percent rise for 9-7X and a 11 percent retail increase for 9-3. Lastly, Saturn retail sales were up 14 percent as the all-new 2007 Aura and Sky continue to bring new customers into the Saturn family.

[aaaantoine]

Good news from GM's corner.

15 percent increase for the CTS? Four model-years old and going strong!

[enzl]

Good news from GM's corner.

15 percent increase for the CTS?  Four model-years old and going strong!

222745[/snapback]

Note: 'Retail' sales, not overall sales.

And they cheated when they claim that Sept 06 to the present is such a vast improvement over 05, as they were in the toilet last year at these times. Numbers can be made to lie or deceive very easily.

[Matt276]

Truck are doing ok, but car sales are a bit disappointing. Toyota sells more cars than all GM's divisions combined.

Total Toyota division: 160K

Total Chevrolet division: 171K units. That's close.

Edited December 1, 2006 by Matt276

[sciguy_0504]

I bet CTS sales are also up because the Escalade models are pulling people into the showroom.

[bowtie_dude]

Even if overall sales are down because of fewer fleets, I'm really happy to see GM selling more cars to consumers and not rental companies.

[Chicagoland]

3 Astros and 5 Azteks were sold, wow! Still some old stuff sittign somewhere.

But, still the great Lucerne sales #'s show that changing the old name helped, and making a good car too!

[cavalier36]

i still cant believe they are still posting Cavalier sales.. they havent built them for 2 years!! and there are still some floating around??

[Northstar]

The car sales were not great, but GM did very well this month on the truck side; I'm sure they made a lot of money on the T900s.

About 45k T900 utilities went out the door. That's quite a few for November. I also wonder how many of the Silverados and Sierras were the loaded-to-the-gills $40k trucks.

[Z-06]

I think it is heartening to see the sales of the GMT's doing well. Although my concern is certainly the passenger cars.

GM needs not one but three or four home runs in passenger cars within next 12 months.

Hopefully, the MALIBU will change it all. So will the Aveo Hatch and Mid Cycle refreshed Cobalt.

Caddillac with a new CTS and a refreshed STS should do better too. GM should bring the Chinese Buick styling here. They are gorgeous. Plus hopefully Astra should get the ball rolling.

I want GM to really push in the passenger car segment.

May be the crossovers will take some of the people off the car market and bring them to GM stable. But the worst thing will be if those people were in the market for GM cars.

Good work GM, but still a long road ahead.

Edited December 2, 2006 by smallchevy

[bobo]

Rough month for Pontiac. Aura sales coming at the expense of Malibu and G6?

[SilverCadillac]

I think when you think about the current lineup of GM models - the sales are encouraging. I would think this was a fairly strong month profitwise if you consider the mix - especially if fleet sales are being reduced month over month. Car sales are down but most of the cars in the lineup are also rans and i think we have to wait for 08/09 to see a marked increase in car marketshare once the new epsilon II/zeta cars hit.

I think Rick Wagoner deserves some credit for drastically changing (and improving) GM the way he has when you consider that the USELESS CEOs that ran the company before him are the reason that the company is in the shape it's in. The company was an absolute mess 12 months ago. It's not yet repaired by any means but it's a dramatic improvement in one year. Wagoner is truly transforming GM into a global company as fast as he can considering he is also focused on cost cutting and union issues. He handled the Nissan-Renault alliance properly and he also just fought off Kerkorian - a deep pocketed shark.

[drew770]

As far as the passenger car side of the house, GM has to be sure that the NG Malibu is a homerun, drop dead looks and on par or better than the Crown Champ Camry.

If not then GM will be robbing Peter (Aura & G6) to pay Paul (NG Malibu)!!!

Is it me but wouldn't it hard for the G6 or the Aura to gain sales if the Malibu is a hit?

Why would you buy a decent G6 or a good Aura when the NG Malibu is suppose to be great?

That's why Toyota has no in house competition for the Camry and the same for Honda and the Accord.

It's only GM that cut its own throat with so many overlapping brands and models!

[SimonDavid]

Looks like GMT900 has staved off bankruptcy, but they are really dying in the car market

8000 Malibus? 5000 LaX's? 6600 Ions. Only 10,000 Cobalts. Toyota selling almost as many cars as the whole of GM

They need the new Malibu to be a major hit, and some Zetas asap

[Bizz]

Rough month for Pontiac.  Aura sales coming at the expense of Malibu and G6?

222958[/snapback]

i can think of at least one that didnt.

[ehaase]

As far as the passenger car side of the house, GM has to be sure that the NG Malibu is a homerun, drop dead looks and on par or better than the Crown Champ Camry.

If not then GM will be robbing Peter (Aura & G6) to pay Paul (NG Malibu)!!!

Is it me but wouldn't it hard for the G6 or the Aura to gain sales if the Malibu is a hit?

Why would you buy a decent G6 or a good Aura when the NG Malibu is suppose to be great?

It's only GM that cut its own throat with so many overlapping brands and models!

222984[/snapback]

I think you make some excellent points here. I also think the new Malibu may rob sales from the Impala, until the Zeta Impala debuts.

[ellives]

GM needs to figure this overlap issue out. It confuses the marketplace. Did anybody else notice the recent Motor Trend Car of the Year article didn't even include the Impala (which I would expect to be the best competition in this category that GM can muster?)

I think you make some excellent points here.  I also think the new Malibu may rob sales from the Impala, until the Zeta Impala debuts.

223077[/snapback]

[trinacriabob]

Car totals (what I care about) are down. Truck totals (what I would never drive) are up.

Major hits to the W-bodies. LaCrosse is down somewhat but GP and MC are down by larger chunks. Is retirement imminent or can a facelift help some? I mean, some of us amateurs have suggested good fixes for these vehicles. Within the competitive mid-size market, you can't afford to be clunky and they need to be cleaned up. The Impala seems to hold on to the big numbers, though. Why such a dive in the Malibu? It's a novel concept on a great platform...the decreases are disturbing.

Edited December 4, 2006 by trinacriabob

[ellives]

To me the Malibu is simple. It's an ugly, uninspiring automobile. I rode in a Maxx a while back and found it to be a solid, comfortable car. The styling is fatal however. Nissan is a good example where styling brought them back from the brink. Lesson learned.

Car totals (what I care about) are down.  Truck totals (what I would never drive) are up.

Major hits to the W-bodies.  LaCrosse is down somewhat but GP and MC are down by larger chunks.  Is retirement imminent or can a facelift help some?  I mean, some of us amateurs have suggested good fixes for these vehicles.  Within the competitive mid-size market, you can't afford to be clunky and they need to be cleaned up.  The Impala seems to hold on to the big numbers, though.  Why such a dive in the Malibu?  It's a novel concept on a great platform...the decreases are disturbing.

223650[/snapback]

[CSpec]

The Cobalt really needs that refresh...

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Truck are doing ok, but car sales are a bit disappointing. Toyota sells  more cars than all GM's divisions combined.

Total Toyota division: 160K

Total Chevrolet division: 171K units. That's close.

222765[/snapback]

Toyotas number PROBABLY include Scion.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

I think this is certainly positive news for GM.

GM is (and always has been) heavy on the truck side when it comes to refreshing product so I'd expect to see similar positive momentum when they introduce offerings on the car side that equal the competitiveness of the truck side.

Think about it, GMT900 is HUGE and it's really paying off, so hopefully when we see the new CTS and Malibu it'll help get the car side of the business going better. A lot of GM's car offerings simply aren't competitive. Look at Chevrolet, for example... The current Malibu is a joke, the Cobalt, eventhough a 'newer' offering has fallen behind the times and the Impala is based on 20 year old underpinnings.

I'd just ike to see the momentum continue for the offerings that are competitive (Aura, Lucerne, DTS) and semi-competitive (G6, G5, Lacrosse) while the new stuff comes out.

And just think, the new Lambdas are SURE to give GM a nice boost as well!

I just have a couple of concerns now. 1) Can GM re-gain credibility in the car market easily??? Something tells me that it isn't going to be as easy as in the truck market, except for selected entries... But I could be wrong. 2) Can GM reform its car line while not allowing the trucks to become stale?

It looks as if GM is finally starting to fire on all cylinders though (After 20 years of sputtering)

As far as the passenger car side of the house, GM has to be sure that the NG Malibu is a homerun, drop dead looks and on par or better than the Crown Champ Camry.

If not then GM will be robbing Peter (Aura & G6) to pay Paul (NG Malibu)!!!

I agree 100%

[Matt276]

SRX up 9.5%, new interior paying off????

[Chevy Ryan]

Well I did my part. Picked up a Cobalt LT coupe on Nov. 27. And I love it!

[Matt276]

Well I did my part. Picked up a Cobalt LT coupe on Nov. 27. And I love it!

223858[/snapback]

Congrats. I like mine too, but you will find that some interiormaterial are cheap and tend to creak and rattle a bit. Was there a huge discount? Cause GM is supposed to get away from rebates.

[ellives]

Absolutely! Definitely check out the '07 SRX. It really shows where Cadillac interiors are heading. Very nice. We went from (a the International Auto Show in Boston last month) sitting in the Escalade EXT to the SRX at the recommendation of the Cadillac rep at the show and I was very impressed with the interior.

Go GM!

SRX up 9.5%, new interior paying off????

223807[/snapback]

[Chevy Ryan]

Congrats. I like mine too, but you will find that some interiormaterial are cheap and tend to creak and rattle a bit. Was there a huge discount? Cause GM is supposed to get away from rebates.

223867[/snapback]

These are Canadian dollars...sticker was $22,840 (2006 model)

GM rebate total $2412

GM Card earnings $1327

Dealer discount $2636 (I used to work there)

equals end price of $16,465. I think I did pretty good. First tank of highway miles gave me 42 mpg, on winter tires and below freezing temps. I'm a happy camper!

[carman21]

Wow, thats kinda sad, no Oldsmobiles were sold last month.

[ellives]

Wow, thats kinda sad, no Oldsmobiles were sold last month.

229920[/snapback]

Olds is dead and gone sad to say.

Strange I commented out loud to someone this morning when I heard a story on NBC about crash results announced this week. They had asked a number of manufacturers about their plans to address their deficiencies. A number of them said they were doing this or that. The GM spokesman said "we meet all US federal requirements." So typical GM: "we just good enough." Sad. That spokesman should be fired immediately.