Feb. 2007 Sales: General Motors

[Variance]

Feb. 2007 Sales: General Motors

Despite an expected decline in U.S. industry sales, GM reported a 3.4 percent total sales increase, compared with February 2006. The sales gain was due to an 11 percent retail sales increase. Retail and fleet sales by GM dealers in the United States totaled 311,763 vehicles, compared with sales of 301,545 in February 2006. Fleet sales were down 18 percent due to a planned 25 percent reduction in daily rental sales.

"Our pickup, SUV and crossover business was terrific across the board. Our customers are telling us that we have the winning formula - the best products, industry-leading fuel economy and the best value," said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North American Sales, Service and Marketing.

February's performance was led by the new GMC Sierra and the North American Truck of the Year Chevrolet Silverado full-size pickups. Silverado had its best February sales month in five years, total full-size pickup sales were up 29 percent and total truck sales were up more than 7 percent compared with last February. The critically-acclaimed new GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook drove a 97 percent retail increase in the mid-crossover segment.

"With GM offering the best coverage in our 5 year/100,000 mile powertrain limited warranty with roadside assistance and courtesy transportation, we believe customers see our vehicles as having outstanding value and quality that is better than the competition. With a less than stellar industry performance, our February sales results stand out," LaNeve added.

The Chevrolet, GMC, Saturn and Pontiac divisions all saw retail increases in February.

Retail truck sales were up 16 percent compared with February 2006 and total truck sales were up 7 percent. Leading the retail sales gains were full-size pickups, up 36 percent compared with February 2006, with positive showings by Chevrolet Avalanche, up 110 percent and Silverado, up 34 percent. GMC Sierra retail sales volume was up 27 percent compared with last February.

Retail increases by the Cadillac Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT, compared with February 2006, pushed GM's large luxury utilities segment up 7 percent compared with last February.

Driven by an increase in Chevrolet Aveo retail sales, GM's economy car segment retail volume was up 17 percent compared with February 2006. A 45 percent retail increase in Pontiac G6 and a 65 percent increase in Chevrolet Impala retail sales, compared with the same month a year ago, pushed GM's mid-car segment retail volume up 25 percent.

In February, GM's mix of total fleet to retail sales continued to improve significantly. Retail sales were 78.5 percent of total sales, compared with 73 percent last February; fleet sales were 21.5 percent, compared with 27 percent last year.

GM February sales reflected the continuing strength of the new product portfolio with competitive incentive spending, balanced with ongoing reductions in daily rental fleet sales.

See link for sales chart: http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet...amp;docid=33729

[source: General Motors]

[CSpec]

Buick is getting reamed, but the Enclave will hold them over until the Epsilon2 Lacrosse.

[Z-06]

Yeah Buick is getting hammered. Hopefully Enclave will bring them some import humpers and tide off the wave.

Caddy's car division did not fair well either. It is understandable for the CTS, people are hedging after seeing the new one.

But DTS got punked and so is the STS. Surprisingly all the SUV's barring the Escalade (including the SRX) saw increase in sales.

Surprise is that the Colorado got a sales boost. Wonder how many of those were dumped in the fleets.

Acadia + Outlook almost 6000.

Good job overall.

[RoadmaSSter]

Good to see gains, and retail improvements at that. Nice to see that the new pickups are gaining. That said, is 1,900 considered acceptable for the Outlook? Not bashing it, I really don't know what the target is, it just seems low.

[Northstar]

Overall, sales were decent, nothing great though. The Silverado outsold the F-Series, and I expect that to continue to happen. The Acadia's numbers are pretty good, though I expect them to climb to abuot 7k/month or so.

I have noticed that it looks like Saturn is going to have a problem with its turnaround. The Aura is still not selling well (3700 in a month is bad for GM's best family sedan), and the Outlook, which I feel is a nicer vehicle than the Acadia, at least in terms of interior materials, sold less than half as much as the Acadia. People are not used to Saturn having a family sedan or a big SUV-like vehicle, and it's going to take a while for them to catch on. I think we'll start to see Saturn's sales pick up in about a year, when everyone is aware that Saturn no longer only builds compact economy cars.

[bowtie_dude]

Seems like Trailblazer, Envoy, and maybe even potential Tahoe buyers may be opting for the Acadia, Outlook, or Yukon.

[network engineer]

Wow. IF we take a closer look at the results we see that Isuzu, GMC and Saturn had great months, but almost every other brand was down significantly. What does it mean to GM that most of the other brands wre down so much? Buick was hammered in the recent month and that's really no suprise, as the cars that are currently being offered are simply adequate, but not class leading. I am glad I am not in the marketing department right now.

[gm4life]

I was suprised the DTS sales were down that much. And was dispointed with some other sales including Tahoe's but many were up!

[turbo200]

Good news on the improvements on the trucks side, as those all are products that were recently intro'd, adn they're doing well and earning the profits. Most of the truck side was steady, except for surprising drops in Tahoe; everything else seems consistent. The car side saw some major drops. I'm gonna speculate that drops in fleet sales had something to do with it. I was going to say the incentives had something to do with gains, but man there really aren't that many gains to crow about. I do think Saturn is doing fine and will continue to see improvements; no one was prepared for how fast Saturn would intro so many products they've got coming; there is no precedent for the products they are introducing; the lack of Saturn dealers is also a deterrent for some, most likely. Give 'em good product and they will come. Saturn will continue a steady increase. GM should look into changing over some unnecessary Buick/Pontiac dealers into Saturn though.

EDIT: I'm starting to see a lot more Silverados and Auras. I've seen one Sierra too, and it looked real nice, modern, clean, tough, almost edgy but not there, they could have gone edgier, but it's the nicest pickup as it, to me

Edited March 2, 2007 by turbo200

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

EDIT: I'm starting to see a lot more Silverados and Auras. I've seen one Sierra too, and it looked real nice, modern, clean, tough, almost edgy but not there, they could have gone edgier, but it's the nicest pickup as it, to me

I agree for the most part...

I'm really starting to see the Auras around here and it seems to be target clientele as well. Saturn is going to take some time to see results from. They went from offering a cheap SUV, completely inadequate van, and crappy (at best) economy car to offering segment topping, VERY stylish automobiles. The consumer isn't going to click with that overnight, especially since Saturn has a rather tarnished image in the "cool" department.

The Aura will continue to catch on as long as it continues to get positive press, our dealer only has 2 Outlooks, so maybe that has something to do with the (maybe) slow start. Sky will naturally be sluggish this time of year because of the weather and because of the BOOM last year. NOT TO MENTION ALL of these are brand new names that the customer isn't familiar with. Hopefully Astra will take off and I think the wild card will be the Vue. The Vue has been Saturn's shining star for the past couple of years, it's been the only vehicle in the line up consistently showing life. So, when the new one is introduced, I think it'll start strong on both design and name recognition. AND I think it'll bring more customers in that will opt for the Aura or Outlook instead as well.

I think the real "volume star" if you will, is going to be the new Malibu. Chevrolet has the recognition, awareness of the 'Malibu' name and dealer network to have a VOLUME hit. The Aura was never really meant to sell in huge volumes (I know, it still has room to grow, but you get the picture) The Aura was never supposed to be the Epsilon that saved GM. That's not to say that the car and the brand won't grow in popularity, but it'll take some time. Be patient GM, you have the right strategy, eventually the people will come and they'll bring lots of friends.

[I hope GMRULES again]

A nice positive surprise that sales are up. Not surprised to see Buick and Pontiac down so much since the Grand Prix and Lacrosse are the king and queen of the Avis lots. I would of thought by now the Aura would be selling 7-8k a month considering all the positive press its received and the COTY award but its not even outselling the Ion yet. I've only seen 1 on the road.

[Intrepidation]

I would think the Aura would be selling better. I see them all the time.

[gmcbob]

I'm starting to see the Aura pop up around the roads here in Houston. I'm starting to see new Silverados here and there too. I saw a truckload of Silverados heading to a dealer this afternoon on my way home from work. A couple of "Texas Edition" models on the truck too (2wd but with the sweet 20" wheels). I actually really like those bigger wheels on both the Silverado and the Sierra.

About 2 or 3 days ago I saw a truckload of new Toyota Tundras going down the road too. I haven't seen one yet out on the road with someone driving it, but I'm in Houston, and Toyota is insanely popular here, so it's only a matter of time.

[trinacriabob]

Not surprised to see Buick and Pontiac down so much since the Grand Prix and Lacrosse are the king and queen of the Avis lots.

I never have trouble getting a rental Grand Prix. I have to canvas the lot to get a LaCrosse and then tell the rental counter what parking stall the car is in! Either way, both of those models are down markedly. However, Impala made a good showing. It is quite a value for the money.

[A Horse With No Name]

I am seeing more Impalas on the road as well.

Chris