April 2007: General Motors Sales

[Northstar]

http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet...amp;docid=35919

GM Reports 311,687 April Deliveries

* Retail Sales Up 3.6 Percent On An Adjusted Basis, With 15 Models Showing Retail Sales Increases; Daily Rental Sales Drop 36 Percent

* Retail Sales of Full-Size Pickups Up 6 Percent On An Adjusted Basis, Led By The New Silverado and Sierra

* Chevrolet Impala, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura Contribute To 15 Percent Retail Sales Increase On An Adjusted Basis For Mid-Car Segment; Aveo Drives Economy Car Segment Retail Sales Up 27 Percent On An Adjusted Basis

* GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook Fuel Significant Retail Increase In Mid-Utility Crossover Sales

DETROIT - GM dealers in the United States delivered 311,687 vehicles in April, a reduction of 2.2 percent on a sales-day-adjusted basis. GM's April retail sales of 228,465 were up 3.6 percent, on a sales-day-adjusted basis. There were two fewer selling days in April this year.

Fifteen different models showed a retail sales increase, reflecting the continuing strength of GM's new product portfolio. So far this year, daily rental sales of 13 percent of total sales accounted for the lowest percentage of total sales in five years. Daily rental sales were down 23,178 vehicles in April, or 36 percent on a sales-day-adjusted basis, compared with a year ago as mix and quality of share continued to improve significantly. Consistent with its turnaround strategy, GM has reduced daily rental sales by more than 83,000 vehicles in the first four months of 2007.

"April sales were consistent with the pattern of the last few quarters - retail sales up, daily rental down, and continued strength of our launch vehicles," said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North American Sales, Service and Marketing. "We are particularly pleased with the Silverado and Sierra pickups, and from January to March this year we've seen more than a four point full-size pickup market share increase at the expense of Toyota, Ford and DCX. Pickup truck customers are telling us in today's environment they are shopping for value, fuel economy and warranty. GM wins on all three."

Chevrolet Aveo, Impala, Silverado, Suburban, and Avalanche; Pontiac G6; Saturn Sky and VUE; GMC Sierra, Yukon XL and Canyon; Cadillac CTS, SRX, Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT all had April retail sales increases compared with a year ago on a sales-day-adjusted basis. Pontiac G5, Saturn Aura and Outlook and the GMC Acadia are newly-offered products and continue to contribute retail sales momentum. The GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook had retail sales of more than 9,100 vehicles, pushing a significant retail increase in GM's mid-crossover segment. GM's total sales of more than 11,000 vehicles in this segment pushed monthly performance up 184 percent, on a sales-day-adjusted basis, compared with the same month last year.

Total sales of Saturn vehicles were up 29 percent, GMC was up 17 percent and Cadillac was up 2 percent in April on a sales-day-adjusted basis.

"As we continue to execute our North American marketing plans, we've seen positive results, including increased residual values for our products. For customers, this means better resale values for their GM car or truck," LaNeve added. "With new products such as the Buick Enclave, Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Malibu still to come this year, we expect to build on this customer enthusiasm."

Certified Used Vehicles

April 2007 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 41,622 units, down 11 percent from last April. Total year-to-date certified GM sales are 181,473 units, up 3 percent from the same period last year.

GM Certified Used Vehicles, the industry's top-selling manufacturer-certified used brand, posted 36,625 sales, down nearly 10 percent from last April. Year-to-date sales for GM Certified Used Vehicles are 159,409 units, up 4 percent from the same period in 2006.

Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles posted April sales of 2,800 units, down 22 percent from last April. Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 1,478 units in April, down 17 percent. Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 639 units, down 10 percent from last April, and HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 80 units, down 30 percent.

"GM Certified Used Vehicles, the industry's top-selling certified brand, continues to set the pace for the category, with sales through April up more than 4 percent," said LaNeve. "April sales were impacted by having two less sales days than last year. Certified GM sales year-to-date are up over 3 percent from the same period last year."

GM North America Reports April Production, 2007 Second-Quarter Production Forecast is Revised at 1.145 Million Vehicles

In April, GM North America produced 335,000 vehicles (120,000 cars and 215,000 trucks). This is down 17,000 units or 5 percent compared to April 2006 when the region produced 352,000 vehicles (130,000 cars and 222,000 trucks). (Production totals include joint venture production of 15,000 vehicles in April 2007 and 24,000 vehicles in April 2006.)

Additionally, the region's 2007 second-quarter production forecast is revised at 1.145 million vehicles (403,000 cars and 742,000 trucks), down 15,000 units or 1.3 percent from last month's guidance.

GM also announced final 2007 first-quarter and unchanged 2007 second-quarter production forecast for its international regions.

GM Europe - GM Europe produced 511,000 vehicles in the first-quarter of 2007. In the first-quarter of 2006 the region built 494,000 vehicles. The region's 2007 second-quarter production forecast remains unchanged at 473,000 vehicles. In the second-quarter of 2006 the region built 495,000 vehicles.

GM Asia Pacific - The region built 544,000 vehicles in the first-quarter of 2007. In the first-quarter of 2006 the region produced 472,000 vehicles. GM Asia Pacific's 2007 second-quarter production forecast remains unchanged at 568,000 vehicles. In the second-quarter of 2006 the region built 482,000 vehicles.

GM Latin America, Africa and the Middle East - The region built 222,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2007. In the first quarter of 2006 the region produced 194,000 vehicles. The region's 2007 second-quarter production forecast is unchanged at 233,000 vehicles. In the second quarter of 2006 the region built 206,000 vehicles.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

A decent month, I would say. Aside from heavily-fleeted vehicles, not many vehicles dropped by a very big percentage. The Acadia is still doing well, and the Outlook appears to be picking it up, too. The Aura is still not where it needs to be, it's still at a pace of about 50k/year.

[thegriffon]

For those who say how much worse GM is doing, this is how things have really been for a very long time. The cut in fleet sales is just showing the true picture.

[Flybrian]

Saturn L-Series sales up 116%!!!!

[Oracle of Delphi]

Pontiac sold 28 Sunfires?

[Cory Wolfe]

Park Avenues sales are up 604.2%.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Park Avenues sales are up 604.2%.

Yup, it's all those damn BOOMERS!

[regfootball]

keep in mind the economy is in the $h!ter. foreclosures are abundant and housing permits here are down 53%. Nov 08 cannot come soon enough. New pres cannot be had soon enough. In the meantime, GM is holding its own very well in spite of lack of new models and in spite of high gas prices.

Edited May 2, 2007 by regfootball

[trinacriabob]

The resident W-body aficionado will now weigh in: all models are DOWN except for the Impala which is UP. I wonder if the minor touch-up will help the LaCrosse pick up some steam in the next M.Y.

I had lunch with a friend from work today (it's actually the "alumni club"... LOL...who have departed the firm I used to work at who get together once a month) and I was talking about VVT. He quickly told me that his full-size Toyota pickup truck has it and it's no big deal. The 3.5 VVT is not only in the Impala and the MC but powers a good chunk of the Auras ought there, which also appear to be selling quite well.

Go General!

[ZL-1]

I just browsed through the release to see if there's any info re incentives and average selling prices (didn't find it), but unless incentives in retail sales have skyrocketed, the move towards more retail and less fleet sales will be felt in the top line, somehow dampening the impact of lower fleet sales revenue. GM seems to be trying hard to improve the quality of sales instead of relying solely on volume.

There is still the potential issue of underused capacity due to lower production volumes (fixed costs spread over a lower production volume = more fixed cost per car), but we'll have to wait a few months more for the Q2 earnings release to see what the impact is in the bottom line and more importantly in cash flow.

[PrimeGTP]

Check out the SSR tank! I wonder if GM will ever admit that was the worst design to come out of Chevy in 10 years.

Pontiac has sold as many Bonnevilles in April as Chevy has SSRs!

Edited May 2, 2007 by PrimeGTP

[Derek77]

keep in mind the economy is in the $h!ter. foreclosures are abundant and housing permits here are down 53%. Nov 08 cannot come soon enough. New pres cannot be had soon enough. In the meantime, GM is holding its own very well in spite of lack of new models and in spite of high gas prices.

You're kidding, right? I didn't see a emoticon at the end of your post.

[regfootball]

keep in mind the economy is in the $h!ter. foreclosures are abundant and housing permits here are down 53%. Nov 08 cannot come soon enough. New pres cannot be had soon enough. In the meantime, GM is holding its own very well in spite of lack of new models and in spite of high gas prices.

"Falling consumer confidence over credit and housing uncertainties made

for a challenging month for us and the entire U.S. auto industry,

especially compared to last month," said Jim O'Sullivan, president and CEO

of Mazda North American Operations. "At Mazda, we feel we have the right

products in our showrooms to keep our incentive spending in check and help

us make gains in an increasingly volatile and unpredictable market."

again, for GM to do as well as they did, in spite of this, says something.

it's too bad this won't get corrected until Jan. 2009.

Edited May 2, 2007 by regfootball

[Derek77]

Wow. Thanks for the clear reason on why the economy is in the $h!ter. So the economy has been in the $h!ter for a month apparently, since Mazda said it was a challenge.

[regfootball]

no, the economy has been the $h!ter since 2001. It's just that up until now, the mortgage and home values industry could mask a lot of real problems. Now watch all hell break loose. Not even the bankers can engineer this to save us now. War, outsourcing, health care debacle, funding the oil industry's greed, declining wages (for most in this country) it's all gonna come to a head soon. We have to wait until 09 to look forward to seeing movement on fixing any of this, unfortunately.

Looking at some of the other imports sales declines (20-30% on a lot of core models) I am even more impressed with GM holding its own.

Tell me who has seen any prosperity or seen their situations get better in the US since 2001.

Edited May 2, 2007 by regfootball

[Derek77]

no, the economy has been the $h!ter since 2001. It's just that up until now, the mortgage and home values industry could mask a lot of real problems. Now watch all hell break loose. Not even the bankers can engineer this to save us now. War, outsourcing, health care debacle, funding the oil industry's greed, declining wages (for most in this country) it's all gonna come to a head soon. We have to wait until 09 to look forward to seeing movement on fixing any of this, unfortunately.

Looking at some of the other imports sales declines (20-30% on a lot of core models) I am even more impressed with GM holding its own.

Tell me who has seen any prosperity or seen their situations get better in the US since 2001.

So we have been in the $h!ter since 2001 or we are headed for it?

For the record, if it's 2001 then it should be 2000, before 9/11. That's when the bubble popped.

Edited May 2, 2007 by Derek77

[A Horse With No Name]

keep in mind the economy is in the $h!ter. foreclosures are abundant and housing permits here are down 53%. Nov 08 cannot come soon enough. New pres cannot be had soon enough. In the meantime, GM is holding its own very well in spite of lack of new models and in spite of high gas prices.

Exactly. The front of the G.M. Design center isn't the only place that needs the "Shrubbery" (Bushes) trimmed back.

Chris

[A Horse With No Name]

Troubling also is Solstice is not doing so hot...but Sky is way way up. I like the sky better but theya re both good designs. Woonder why the Solstice sales are down?

Chris

[gm4life]

Actually the economy is doing well, now for the car market in general it is bad especially for domestics!

[Derek77]

Exactly. The front of the G.M. Design center isn't the only place that needs the "Shrubbery" (Bushes) trimmed back.

Chris

Really. What makes you think it's in the $h!ter? I'm just trying to see where it is exactly in the $h!ter it is.

To answer the regfootball question on who has seen any prosperity or seen their situations get better in the US since 2001. Me.

Edited May 2, 2007 by Derek77

[ehaase]

I think the bright spots are the Impala, the big full size SUV's (Suburban, ESV, Yukon XL), the Avalanche, and the Lambdas. I guess fuel prices aren't affecting buyers of the largest SUV's.

Chazman's website said that the Zeta Impala has been delayed for a year, so I can see why GM wants to keep the W body Impala around another year.

[Viral]

In only its third full month, the Acadia sold 7487 units, making it the third highest selling vehicle in the GMC line! In fact, it was less than 100 units behind the Yukon, which saw a big decline since last month. At this rate of growth, it will pass the Yukon to become the #2 GMC next month, and most likely overtake the Sierra by the end of the year to become the #1 selling GMC vehicle! It's done all of this with the Lansing Delta plant not yet up to full production speed and basically taking a backseat to the first run of Enclaves in the second half of the month. There are hordes of members over at http://www.acadiaforum.net that have been waiting weeks, sometimes months on their Acadia orders. They simply cannot build them fast enough, so even that 7500 sales number is simply what they could deliver last month.

Take a look at the Lambda sales chart:

Do any other GM vehicles have this kind of growth curve? GM really hit it out of the park with these amazing crossovers!

Edited May 3, 2007 by Viral

[regfootball]

Really. What makes you think it's in the $h!ter? I'm just trying to see where it is exactly in the $h!ter it is.

To answer the regfootball question on who has seen any prosperity or seen their situations get better in the US since 2001. Me.

you must work in the oil business or defense contracting or outsourcing.

[regfootball]

In only its third full month, the Acadia sold 7487 units, making it the third highest selling vehicle in the GMC line! In fact, it was less than 100 units behind the Yukon, which saw a big decline since last month. At this rate of growth, it will pass the Yukon to become the #2 GMC next month, and most likely overtake the Sierra by the end of the year to become the #1 selling GMC vehicle! It's done all of this with the Lansing Delta plant not yet up to full production speed and basically taking a backseat to the first run of Enclaves in the second half of the month. There are hordes of members over at http://www.acadiaforum.net that have been waiting weeks, sometimes months on their Acadia orders. They simply cannot build them fast enough, so even that 7500 sales number is simply what they could deliver last month.

Take a look at the Lambda sales chart:

Do any other GM vehicles have this kind of growth curve? GM really hit it out of the park with these amazing crossovers!

yet they are piling up on Saturn lots.

[PrimeGTP]

Regfootball, what does that have to do with the sales numbers? Production and sales are 2 different things. GM may be making a mistake in churning them out, but they are selling well regardless.

[Viral]

yet they are piling up on Saturn lots.

I think Saturn has a big image issue to overcome. So many people just can't rationalize paying $30-40,000 for a Saturn. Does that mean Outlooks aren't worth it? Absolutely not, and those that DO test drive one know immediately that it's one hell of a car, a complete departure from the Saturn of old. But just that concept keeps many people from even walking in and test driving one, IMO. GMC doesn't suffer the same infliction because the Denalis broke that barrier long ago for them. People will walk in and not think twice about a $35,000 GMC, test drive it and never think twice about that Yukon they actually intended to buy...

[Derek77]

you must work in the oil business or defense contracting or outsourcing.

That was a good come back.