September 2007 Sales: General Motors

[Flybrian]

GM Reports 337,640 September Deliveries
Up 4 Percent Compared With 2006
(Monthly comparison percentages are adjusted for sales days unless noted. Annual and calendar year-to-date comparisons are unadjusted.)

• Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and Saturn All Increased Sales Year-Over-Year
• Buick 6 Percent Retail Sales Increase Led By Red-Hot Enclave Crossover
• Full-Size Utilities, Pickups and Crossovers Post Significant Gains
• All-New CTS Drives Cadillac To Best Month Of 2007

DETROIT - GM dealers in the United States delivered 337,640 vehicles in September, up 4 percent compared with a year ago. The company's 255,274 retail deliveries were up more than 7 percent.

For the second consecutive month GM bucked industry trends, led by brisk retail sales of full-size trucks, mid-utility crossovers, the Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Cobalt.

"Our market share performance of more than 25 percent over the last quarter demonstrates strong consumer acceptance of our new products and the continued progress we've made in our North America turnaround strategy," said Mark LaNeve, GM North America vice president, Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "Our industry-leading truck lineup continued its strong performance, and we were particularly pleased by our performance in passenger cars, led by the fuel-efficient Chevy Cobalt and all-new Cadillac CTS. The CTS had its best-ever September performance with more than 5,400 vehicles sold, a testament to the power of the all-new model."

The company continues transforming its North American business with overall incentive spending flat compared with a year ago. September inventories were down about 100,000 vehicles to approximately 900,000 vehicles. Fleet deliveries were down, as planned, by more than 6 percent.

"Our retail share, which has been stable for two years, improved in Q3 with all three months solid from a share standpoint," LaNeve added. "For the second consecutive month, we posted good retail volume despite a challenging industry. To build on that retail strength, we're gearing up for the all-new Chevrolet Malibu launch later this month and are encouraging folks to try our pickups and SUVs as part of the Truck Month sales event."

Cadillac CTS total sales surged ahead 74 percent, compared with year-ago performance, due to the strength of the all-new CTS, now in showrooms. GMC Acadia, Saturn OUTLOOK and Buick Enclave together had total sales of nearly 13,000 vehicles, pushing the significant increase in GM's mid-crossover segment. Total sales of the fuel-efficient Cobalt were up more than 35 percent compared with last September.

Other vehicles with retail sales increases, compared with year-ago levels, include: Chevrolet Aveo, Impala, Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban, HHR and Equinox; Saturn AURA and VUE; GMC Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL; Cadillac Escalade; Pontiac G5, G6 and Torrent; Buick Lucerne and Saab 9-3.

An increasing number of consumers cite warranty coverage as a reason for buying a new GM vehicle. GM's 5 Year/100,000 Mile Powertrain Limited Warranty continues to be a better choice for customers. GM's coverage focuses on the complete ownership experience and includes other provisions that competitors do not offer, including transferability to the next owner, more complete coverage of parts, and coverage for new and certified used vehicles. In addition, GM offers superior complementary programs, such as courtesy transportation and roadside assistance. "GM provides the best coverage in the industry and takes care of the vehicle and the owner like no other vehicle manufacturer," LaNeve added.

Certified Used Vehicles

September 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 41,118 vehicles, down 10.5 percent from last September. Total year-to-date certified GM sales are 402,191 vehicles, up 2 percent from the same period last year.

GM Certified Used Vehicles, the industry's top-selling manufacturer-certified used vehicle brand, posted 36,206 sales, down 9 percent from last September. There was one less selling day than last September. Year-to-date sales for GM Certified Used Vehicles are 353,600 vehicles, up 4 percent from the same period in 2006.

Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles posted September sales of 3,038 vehicles, down 20 percent from last September. Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 1,173 vehicles in September, down 21 percent. Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 564 vehicles, down 26 percent, and HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 137 vehicles, up 22 percent.

"Through September, GM Certified Used Vehicles continues to lead the manufacturer-certified category, with year-to-date sales up 4 percent from last year's industry-leading annual sales results," said LaNeve. "GM Certified customers enjoy the certified segment's broadest selection of vehicles from the largest dealer network, backed by a fully transferable 5-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty, the best coverage of any full-line automaker."

GM North America Reports September and Third-Quarter 2007 Production, 2007 Fourth-Quarter Production Forecast Unchanged at 1 Million Vehicles

In September, GM North America produced 323,000 vehicles (118,000 cars and 205,000 trucks). This is down 64,000 units or 16 percent compared with September 2006 when the region produced 387,000 vehicles (161,000 cars and 226,000 trucks). (Production totals include joint venture production of 15,000 vehicles in September 2007 and 22,000 vehicles in September 2006.)

GM North America built 1.020 million vehicles (367,000 cars and 653,000 trucks) in the third-quarter of 2007. This is down 30,000 vehicles or 3 percent compared with third-quarter of 2006 when the region produced 1.050 million vehicles (417,000 cars and 633,000 trucks). The third-quarter 2007 production decline versus last month's guidance is largely due to the recent UAW work stoppage in the U.S. Additionally, GM North America's 2007 fourth-quarter production forecast is unchanged at 1 million vehicles (334,000 cars and 666,000 trucks). In the fourth-quarter of 2006 the region produced 1.107 million vehicles (446,000 cars and 661,000 trucks).

CLICK HERE TO VIEW COMPLETE SALES BREAKOUT

Fly's Fun GM Sales Facts

Ford Cars - 39,867
GM W-bodies - 38,678
Chrysler Total - 38,668

SAAB outsold Jaguar 2 to 1

[VenSeattle]

Several analysts must be beside themselves because this isn't what they wanted to hear.

GM was supposed to be flat... or down! or at least bolstered by fleet sales!

[Z-06]

Those are good retail numbers. Good job. Good to see it in despaired month of September.

[hdmax]

Back, to back months of GM bucking the trend. While toyota has been down both months. Things are really gooding good.

[Z-06]

Toy is 4.4% Decline

[Northstar]

GM's new products are certainly carrying the company. The Lambda's are lower than what I had hoped for, though. The CTS is going to sell like hotcakes, it appears. The VUE is starting to take off, and the T900s are still rolling right along. The Aura appears to be catching on slowly, as well. 8.5k/month would give them their 100k target, and they were at 6.2k this month.

[ZL-1]

Good job!

[I hope GMRULES again]

Awesome! Nice to see more positive news.

[mustang84]

Good to see GM pulling ahead...it appears they are finally coming out of the slump. GM's stock prices lately have been reflecting its improved performance.

[regfootball]

An increasing number of consumers cite warranty coverage as a reason for buying a new GM vehicle. GM's 5 Year/100,000 Mile Powertrain Limited Warranty continues to be a better choice for customers. GM's coverage focuses on the complete ownership experience and includes other provisions that competitors do not offer, including transferability to the next owner, more complete coverage of parts, and coverage for new and certified used vehicles. In addition, GM offers superior complementary programs, such as courtesy transportation and roadside assistance. "GM provides the best coverage in the industry and takes care of the vehicle and the owner like no other vehicle manufacturer," LaNeve added.

and no 80 dollar oil changes.

Edited October 2, 2007 by regfootball

[enzl]

Credit where credit is due.

Sales up in an industry-wide weak market.

Excellent news. (Our Chevy store broke the single month retail sales record for our location this month as well.)

[Drew Dowdell]

Why are other news outlets <MSNBC at least> reporting GM sales as flat?

[Intrepidation]

Congrats to GM

[cletus8269]

maybe all gms predicted bad luck went to ford... 21% down for september. ouch

[smk4565]

Good news, I'd like to see the fleet sales drop even more, it will help them in the long haul. Isn't every month at GM a "truck month" sales event? 13,000 Lambdas a month works out to 156,000 per year. Will they sell 250k Chevys? 156,000 a year is nice, but it's 3 vehicles doing that, while the Honda Odyssey does well over 100k, and the Trailblazer had some 200,000+ years. They need one minivan and one midsize 5 seat SUV, and a compact SUV.

CTS should break the 60,000 mark they hoped for. I think 60-70k is very realistic as STS sales sink and the CTS is improved over the last model. Cadillac needs more winners though, that is their top selling car, and still selling half as many as the 3-series.

[smk4565]

maybe all gms predicted bad luck went to ford... 21% down for september. ouch

Ford's model lineup is terrible. They are dead in the water basically. The F150, Escape and Edge are doing well, the Mustang does kind of well due to no immediate competitor and 40 year history, but that is about it. I see a fair amount of MKZ's, but I don't think any competitor fears them too much.

[Chevy Nick]

Toy is 4.4% Decline

That can't be right, somebody must have screwed up some numbers. Toyota is infallible.

[Newbiewar]

That can't be right, somebody must have screwed up some numbers. Toyota is infallible.

well their mouth peice "Pres" is gone...

[sciguy_0504]

Good month.

Do the Lambdas have a capacity issue?

[Drew Dowdell]

well their mouth peice "Pres" is gone...

Best month EVAR!

[Northstar]

Good month.

Do the Lambdas have a capacity issue?

I am not sure why their sales were not higher. They did a pace of 150k/year and the plant has 250k/year capacity. However, some of that extra capacity is being saved for the Chevy Lambda, so I'm not entirely sure what the issue is.

[jbartley]

I am not sure why their sales were not higher. They did a pace of 150k/year and the plant has 250k/year capacity. However, some of that extra capacity is being saved for the Chevy Lambda, so I'm not entirely sure what the issue is.

delivery issues at the end of the month? maybe?

[953228]

delivery issues at the end of the month? maybe?

They are building a thousand or so a month for the Middle East (Acadias), but there are plenty of Outlooks on the lots and enough Acadias. The only capacity issue is with Enclave. While I would discribe the Lambdas as doing well, I think GM is willing to build some inventory before they offer any incentives. If and when they put some money on the hood of those 3 they will take off. I looked at one the other day, but got an Aura because the lease price was about 1/2 for an Aura whose sticker price was only 20% lower than the Outlook.

[Newbiewar]

if you read the production schedual i think chevy is getting its own plant for lambda... and its production is aimed at 250k by itself...

[ponchoman49]

When you make butt ugly products, have record recalls, tranny issues on your bread and butter volume selling sedan, quality control glitches galore, a half baked full sized pickup with the worlds worst dash design, hybreds that don't even come close to there mileage figures on the sticker, overrated HP figures, over riding desire to be number one at all costs, internal scandels and such, it's bound to result in some public awareness eventually. It's good to see some Americans still have brains and can think for themselves. Way to go GM!

Toyota- moving behind

[Northstar]

if you read the production schedual i think chevy is getting its own plant for lambda... and its production is aimed at 250k by itself...

Originally it was planned to be close to 50/50 split at Spring Hill and LDT, but the volume was much lower. Perhaps they have scrapped plans to build it at LDT.

[gm4life]

This is good news sales keep going up. Lets just hope this becomes a trend!