GM sales down 34%: April 09

[01Malibu]

http://www.newsdurhamregion.com/news/business/article/125364

[DBeaSSt]

Click here for charts:

http://www.gm.com/corporate/investor_information/sales_prod/

Darned PDF based links...

For Release: May 1, 2009

GM Reports 173,007 Deliveries in April

All Four Core Brands See Sales Increases Compared with March

* Total sales up 11 percent compared with March as spring selling season begins

* Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra drive increase in full-size pickup market share compared with March

* Chevrolet Traverse sales of more than 8,200 drives GM’s mid-crossover segment sales up 16 percent

* “Total Confidence” plan extended into May

DETROIT – General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 173,007 vehicles in April, down 34 percent compared with a year ago. However, when comparing GM’s April sales with March, total volume was up 11 percent, or about 16,600 cars, crossovers and trucks, largely driven by a return to more normal volumes of fleet sales compared with a very weak first quarter. GM’s car sales compared with March were up nearly 2,900 vehicles (4 percent), truck sales increased more than 9,500 vehicles (16 percent), and crossover sales were up nearly 4,200 vehicles (14 percent).

“From a retail standpoint, GM and the industry continued at about the same selling rate as February and March. We see that stabilization, along with a firming up of our fleet business and improvement in Silverado and Sierra sales, as an encouraging sign,” said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. “We’re pleased to see R.L. Polk information this week indicating that a majority of consumers plan to buy a vehicle in the next two years – that shows pent-up demand is building. With our full line-up of cars, crossovers, trucks and hybrids – and some very competitive incentive offers – we’re well-positioned to meet this growing consumer demand in the months ahead. For example, we have more than 15,000 sold orders for the white-hot Chevy Camaro.”

GM total truck sales (including crossovers) of 102,032 were down 28 percent and car sales of 71,775 were off 41 percent compared with a year ago.

GM’s four core brands performed strongly compared with March. Total Chevrolet sales of more than 115,000 vehicles were up 22 percent; Cadillac sales of more than 8,300 vehicles increased 2 percent; GMC sales of more than 20,400 vehicles were up 7 percent; and Buick sales of nearly 9,000 vehicles were up 21 percent. Specifically, when April sales are compared with March:

* Driven by double-digit increases in Silverado, Tahoe, Traverse and HHR sales, Chevrolet trucks and crossovers were up 22 percent; Chevrolet cars were powered by Cobalt, Impala and Corvette sales, driving an increase of 21 percent.

* Cadillac trucks and crossovers were down 11 percent; however, STS and DTS sales hikes pushed Cadillac car volume up 7 percent.

* GMC trucks and crossovers increased 7 percent with Sierra and Yukon leading the way.

* The Buick Enclave saw a 17 percent increase in sales; while a double-digit increase in Lucerne sales pushed cars up 25 percent.

“We’re hearing very positive feedback from dealers and customers, so we’re keeping the rally going by extending the Total Confidence plan for Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, GMC and Saturn customers in May,” LaNeve said. “More than 750,000 people visited our Total Confidence website in April, and about 70 percent of those folks came to us from third-party sites.”

“We'd also like to see continued actions by the government to stimulate sales, such as the proposed scrappage program. The President’s comments yesterday encouraging customers to buy American cars and trucks was also very positive. We have said many times that Americans should consider our products because they are the best. The economic advantages are a plus to that,” LaNeve added. “The President restated our shared belief that GM will be a part of a strong and viable auto industry for many years to come, and customers should feel very comfortable buying our vehicles.”

A total of 1,534 GM hybrid vehicles were delivered in the month, illustrating the wide range of hybrid product offerings available. GM offers the Chevrolet Malibu, Tahoe and Silverado, GMC Yukon and Sierra, Cadillac Escalade, Saturn Aura and Vue hybrids. So far, in 2009, GM has delivered 5,156 hybrid vehicles.

GM inventories dropped compared with a year ago. At the end of April, about 742,000 vehicles were in stock, down about 82,000 vehicles (or 10 percent) compared with last year. There were about 313,000 cars and 429,000 trucks (including crossovers) in inventory at the end of April. Inventories were reduced about 25,000 vehicles compared with March. Importantly, last week, GM announced that it would lower production by approximately 190,000 vehicles through the early part of the third quarter as it continues to reduce inventories to an expected level of about 525,000 vehicles by the end of July. The schedule for launch vehicles including the all-new Chevrolet Camaro, Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac SRX and GMC Terrain is being maintained so that customers will continue to see a full selection of new and launch vehicles in dealer showrooms.

Certified Used Vehicles

GM Certified Used Vehicles, Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, and HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, combined sold 34,079 vehicles.

GM Certified Used Vehicles, the industry’s top-selling certified brand, posted April sales of 28,722 vehicles, down 26 percent from April 2008. Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 1,066 vehicles, down 8 percent. Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 493 vehicles, down 34 percent. However, two brands posted gains: Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 3,566 vehicles, up 0.03 percent and HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 232 vehicles, up 39 percent.

"GM’s manufacturer-certified programs continue to offer a strong value for consumers and we are seeing some optimism in the market,” said LaNeve. “In particular, our Cadillac CPO brand has been resonating with consumers and remains on a positive track. Not only do Certified Used Vehicles offer the largest selection in the industry, they also come with strong factory backed warranties, such as the 12-month/12,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. Certified Used Vehicles offer the peace of mind in purchasing a durable and reliable vehicle.”

GM North America reports April 2009 production; Q2 2009 production forecast set at 390,000 vehicles

In April, GM North America produced 171,000 vehicles (59,000 cars and 112,000 trucks). This is down 71,000 vehicles or 29 percent compared with April 2008 when the region produced 242,000 vehicles (128,000 cars and 114,000 trucks). (Production totals include joint venture production of 7,000 vehicles in April 2009 and 22,000 vehicles in April 2008.)

The region’s 2009 second-quarter production forecast is set at 390,000 vehicles (172,000 cars and 218,000 trucks), which is down about 53 percent compared with a year ago. GM North America built 834,000 vehicles (382,000 cars and 452,000 trucks) in the second-quarter of 2008.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), one of the world’s largest automakers, was founded in 1908, and today manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 243,000 people in every major region of the world, and sells and services vehicles in some 140 countries. In 2008, GM sold 8.35 million cars and trucks globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

[01Malibu]

Why won't GM list how many cars in each model were sold? They mention the Traverse selling 8200 (nice to see it doing well) but how many of the other models were sold? What happened to the charts they used to provide listing the name of the divison, models and numbers sold?

[DBeaSSt]

Click the link in my post. In the box at the top of the press release is a link to a PDF file containing the sales charts. Hence my comment below the link.

[gm4life]

Could have been worse. Pontiac took a beating not good I am sure the fact that everyone knows they are cutting the brand doesn't help either.

[Satty]

Pontiac was announced with less than a week's selling days left in the month, the announcement had little to nothing to do with their numbers.

[gm4life]

Pontiac was announced with less than a week's selling days left in the month, the announcement had little to nothing to do with their numbers.

I am sure that didn't help, and things were floating around the net the previous week as well tho.

[gmcbob]

Interesting to see that Lexus fell harder than Caddy - and I mean a lot harder. If you look at the numbers for April, Cadillac sold almost the same amount of cars as Lexus, with fewer compelling models (okay, with only 1 real solid compelling model, the CTS). Might not mean much, but I've always viewed the success of Lexus as the real tell all sign of how good Toyota is at pulling the wool over people's eyes.

[Drew Dowdell]

Interesting to see that Lexus fell harder than Caddy - and I mean a lot harder. If you look at the numbers for April, Cadillac sold almost the same amount of cars as Lexus, with fewer compelling models (okay, with only 1 real solid compelling model, the CTS). Might not mean much, but I've always viewed the success of Lexus as the real tell all sign of how good Toyota is at pulling the wool over people's eyes.

I don't find any Lexus model to be compelling... but that's just me.

Even if GM, Ford, and Chrysler were all liquidated, I'd still buy a Jaguar, Benz, or BMW before I'd buy a Lexus.

[A Horse With No Name]

I don't find any Lexus model to be compelling... but that's just me.

Even if GM, Ford, and Chrysler were all liquidated, I'd still buy a Jaguar, Benz, or BMW before I'd buy a Lexus.

I would agree. Lexus seems just so ungodly bland to me.

Chris