GM December Sales

[avant1963]

GM in 2005 posted several significant records that point to strong consumer acceptance of its new products. Chevrolet, led by strong full-size pickup and launch vehicle sales, was the best-selling vehicle brand in the United States for the first time since 1986. HUMMER had a record sales year and was the industry's fastest-growing brand. Saturn ended the year with improved sales (up 1 percent), setting the stage for 2006, when it will double its product lineup with three all-new vehicles.

General Motors dealers in the United States sold 392,041 new cars and trucks in December, down 10 percent from the same month a year ago. Car sales were down 19 percent and truck sales were off 5 percent. Total sales were up 29 percent compared to November levels. Calendar year sales (4,517,730) were down 4 percent, with car sales off 7 percent and truck deliveries down 2 percent.

"We're thrilled that consumers voted with their pocketbook and made Chevrolet the number one U.S. brand in 2005," said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "But we're not going to spend time celebrating this accomplishment. We're headed right back to the important business of introducing 19 new vehicles this year and providing buyers with an industry-leading sales and service experience."

Chevrolet's results were paced by full-size pickup sales and the introduction of the new Impala, Equinox, HHR and Cobalt. Over the last five years, driven by consumer response to its revamped product lineup, Chevrolet closed an 850,000-unit sales gap with the competition, a notable accomplishment given the increasingly competitive nature of the U.S. auto industry. Chevrolet's continuing strong truck sales and the introduction of important entry-level vehicles were key to this achievement. Chevrolet's new entry-level vehicles, the Equinox, HHR, Cobalt and Aveo, increased sales by more than 100,000 units in 2005.

GM posted exceptionally strong full-size pickup sales in December and ended the year with 998,654 deliveries, less than 1,500 units below the 1 million-unit sales benchmark. This was the industry's second-best-ever annual sales performance for full-size pickups, falling just short of the previous GM record set in 1978 (1,010,688).

In 2005, GM once again experienced a sales increase for all of its luxury brands. Sales of GM luxury vehicles grew by more than 100,000 units between 2000 and 2005. Cadillac in 2005 had its fourth consecutive year of sales increases and its best sales performance since 1990, led by record CTS, DTS and STS sales. Saab achieved a year-over-year sales improvement in 2005. HUMMER capped record 2005 sales with its best-ever monthly sales and the distinction of being the fastest growing brand in the industry. Positive consumer reaction to the new H3 drove HUMMER's December sales up 112 percent. Calendar-year deliveries were 93 percent greater than last year.

Saturn sales for December were up 13 percent and calendar year deliveries rose 1 percent. The new Vue led this improvement, with sales gains in seven months in 2005. Vue's December sales were up 35 percent and calendar year sales rose 6 percent. Consumers in 2006 will have more choices in the Saturn portfolio, when it doubles its product lineup and introduces three all-new products, the Aura, Sky and Outlook, each featuring Saturn's dynamic and inviting design.

"While December was a difficult comparison for us and other manufacturers, by any measure it still was a solid sales month," LaNeve added. "We're particularly pleased with the recovery in our sport utility and full-size pickup business. It gives us renewed confidence as we prepare to launch new vehicles into these key segments in 2006."

http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet...n=2&docid=21738

[jbartley]

wow, who'd have thought the Lacrosse would sell over 90 vehicle this year?

[zoomtm]

lucerne outsold DTS :)

[turbo200]

Lot's to consider here.... GM with the use of Red Tag did not match the pace of last year. Is the economy suffering, or are the people that buy GM suffering? Or are consumers just increasingly turning to the competition as GM's core products look stale? Over at Chevy, there is no mixed bag, there's mostly negative things going on there. Chevy is No. 1! but at what cost Malibu does 200k sales, with a ratio of 50% of sales going to fleets. Impala is not achieving the bewilderingly torrid pace of last year's model, even with Red Tag and massive improvements. Were fleet sales overblown for the last model, and we are just seeing the effects of that? Or is the Impala being pushed around by stiff and outstanding competition in one of the most rigorous and competitive segments and industry ever? Cobalt- well I thought there would be figures for it from last year, but apparently it only went on sale at the beginning of this year [too lazy to check]. If that's so, then sales have really dropped off, and show significant decline compared to the Cavalier. Civic and Corolla meanwhile gain to imperious sales figures. Equinox is a certified hit..130k units and its well on its way to the top in terms of sales in its class. Now imagine this stylish exterior with the interior design presence and quality of the Rav4, packaging and space efficiency of the Rav4 [3rd row included], and powerplants offered on the Rav4. Aw Heck, GM should just let Toyota engineer thier vehicles for them and then GM should do the design work. It'll work! [just kidding] In all seriousness, imagine how powerful a competitor Chevy and GM would have with the kind of serious effort that went into the Rav4. Tahoe and big utes- strong and steadfast, sales continue, though decreased, the decrease is relatively minimal compared to how the media has been portraying this "dead segment". Exaggerations are a natural extension of human illogical thinking. Over at Buick.... Car sales have decreased dramatically this year [relative to thier overall sales]. In a transation year, some decreases are to be expected, but the loss of 40k sales, when car sales overall are only 180k, is staggering and not to be underestimated in what is being foretold at Buick. Lucerne and Lacrosse and Enclave need to turn around things, before these three cars become throwaway and irrellevant to GM. Enclave can very well be the harbinger of hope for Buick. I can see it reaching 200k units, especially since RDV was once at a pace of 100k/yr; and with the deserved success the Enclave has been under wraps, it should make a big impact in the marketplace. Hopefully, this will encourage GM to offer MORE cars at Buick. How about a nice S40, A3/A4, Passat competitor with RWD off the Camaro's platform and wheelbase, with strong isolation, beautifully sculpted interior and a solid substantial feel with connection to the road still. A G6 off this platform would also be perfection embodied. Come on GM! THINK! Don't build another stupid, money-sapping roadster, when it isn't necessary just yet, and the most important CARS, CARS aren't in the shape they need to be. [end rant] Over at Cadillac....most things are rosy. Caddy's cars have a cantankerous image that needs to be kept up though, they need to be nasty and mean and pretentious and classy and special [keep this in mind Caddy designers]. Escalade and SRX aren't doing so well, but this is probably because some are now waiting for the new Escalade, and the current Slades finally seem to be losing some steam [though this is undetectable if you only consider the kind of cars GM is charging 50, 60, and 70k for compared to what others are offering for similar prices]. Over at Saturn....things are chugging along. The new cars will be huge for them. Over at Pontiac, G6 is finally showing signs of something sustainable. But not enough. That's it. Solstice obviously a bright spot. The Torrent, otherwise known as the "mistake", is a bright spot as well. The public's appetite for utility is unsatiable. We've got Hummer!, says the lone GM boardmembers who are still content with the direction the company was in. Yes, Hummer did fantastically. GM need not stop, and more derivatives of it are needed quickly. Build a real H3T with utility, a midgate, 5 passenger seating, real comfort, and real utility. That's all there is. There isn't any more. Hehe, I've ignored some not because I don't care, but because some brands and vehicles don't always require analysis. Some are stagnant, some are about to undergo a huge product infusion, etc. Presented here is my "spin" on the results. Edited January 4, 2006 by turbo200

[Cory Wolfe]

So... Chevy finally regains the top sales spot from Ford, eh? Interesting. Chevy.... 2,669,932 GMC......... 566,322 Pontiac...... 437,806 Buick........ 282,288 Cadillac..... 235,002 Saturn...... 213,657 Hummer..... 56,727 Saab.......... 38,343

[Matt276]

I was stunned to see the Hyundai Sonata selling more tha 20K units in december. That's where are Malibu and Impala buyers. GM is not competitive in cars.

[sciguy_0504]

Rumors has it the economy in 2006 is going to be great so we should be looking forward to a good year for car sales. I think Saturn will sell more than Buick this year, too.

[Cory Wolfe]

Rumors has it the economy in 2006 is going to be great so we should be looking forward to a good year for car sales.

I think Saturn will sell more than Buick this year, too.

[post="67608"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Cadillac too, I bet...

[VenSeattle]

Lot's to consider here....

Over at Buick.... Car sales have decreased dramatically this year [relative to thier overall sales]. In a transation year, some decreases are to be expected, but the loss of 40k sales, when car sales overall are only 180k, is staggering and not to be underestimated in what is being foretold at Buick.

Turbo, the dramatic decrease in sedan sales for Buick in 2005 was due to a short run of the LeSabre & a late in the year launch for Lucerne. Transition years usually involve both vehicles being readily available on lots. This was not the case for Buick. Notice that there's about a 40,000 decrease in LeSabre sales. That decrease can be traced back to "August-Dec" when dealers stopped receiving inventory. LeSabre sales were healthy before then.

As a side note, Lucerne sold almost 6,000 in December and it was NOT included in the Red Tag event. Good show for the Lucerne.

[intrigued]

wow i know its a transition period but buick is not looking good, 280k units is less than olds made the year it got cancelled. Better hope the new stuff and the enclave catch on next year or there goes buick. I want to see pontiac pass 500k next year hopefully.

[Mike The Canadian]

lucerne did great selling almost as much as the lacrosse, and the lesabres ytd is only about 8.5 times more than the lucernes...and the lucerne has been selling for about 1.5 months

[avant1963]

I was stunned to see the Hyundai Sonata selling more tha 20K units in december. That's where are Malibu and Impala buyers. GM is not competitive in cars.

Have you sat in and driven a 2006 Sonata yet? I have and it has nothing on my 2006 G6 in style, ride, power or interior materials. Inside you still know you are in a Korean car. Nothing feels "confident".

Hyundai has gotten much better than itself in the last 15 years, but don't fool yourself. The Korean price and 10/100,000 warranty is one of the only reasons the Sonata is selling at the rate it is.

The person I worked with that bought one was able to get the 2006 middle-of-the-road equipted Sonata (in October) with an auto for $14,500. It stickered for $18,500. That's what selling the Sonata.

[balthazar]

People tend to compliment hyundai's quality improvements yet gloss right over the fact that their vehicles still comfortably exceed the industry average for problems. "Better junk" might be a good ad slogan... ;) Cadillac at 235K, eh? Where were mercedes, bmw & lexus?? I'm surprised GMC did not exceed 600K- they were at 578 (IIRC) last year, the tenth out of 11 years GMC posted a sales record. Chevy selling an S-load of vehicles- where was toyota?

[ponchoman49]

Rumors has it the economy in 2006 is going to be great so we should be looking forward to a good year for car sales.

I think Saturn will sell more than Buick this year, too.

[post="67608"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I highly doubt it. The experts and media already have there minds made up that oil will be topping $100.00/barrell for Summer 2006. If you think $3.00/gallon gas is bad wait till it goes to $5.00/gallon. That will have a disasterous affect on the economy at that point because the poor to average consumer won't even think about buying a car/truck at that, just survival. I don't think things will change much from the past couple of years, if anything it will get worse.

[sciguy_0504]

I guess your watching CBS News and reading the NYT? The only way oil will reach $100 a barrel is if the Dems have their way and pull us out of Iraq. Imagine allowing terrorists to have free reign over the world's second largest oil reserves...

[Chicagoland]

Doom and gllom for gas prices have been predcited since 1979. Gas was supposed to be $3 a gallon in 1983, not. Adjusted for inflation, $3 gas now is $1.50 in 1981. If gas goes over $4, the drilling crews will hit Alaska faster than a comet.

[thegriffon]

Counting only Same-model sales (i.e. ignoring lines which have been or are being discontinued and new model lines) GM sales were down 5.9% on a DSR for 2005. Hyundai/Kia sales were down 5.66%. Despite a strong recovery in the last quarter thanks entirely to the Jetta same-model sales at VW/Audi were down 9.28%. New lines at Nissan have not do well, primarily victims of higher fuel prices. While total sales were up 8.13%, same model sales were up 12.02%. While the Tribeca boosted Subaru, same-model sales there fell 2.99% with falling sales of the Forester, Baja and Outback. Although sales of the Legacy sedan are still a tenth of mainstream midsize sedans sales continue their strong growth, up nearly 15% this year. Without the Ridgline sales at Honda were flat, up just 1.94%. Accord sales fell 4.21%, while other major lines such as the CR-V, TL and Civic grew less than 1%. Same model sales at Ford/Mazda were down 8.26%. New lines at BMW have also been disappointing with the first full-year sales of the X3 and 6-Series less than 2004. New-generation SLK- and M-Class models were not enough to stop a big drop in same-model sales at Mercedes (down 7.4%), while new lines (CLS- and R-Class and the Maclaren SLR) could only boost sales to a modest gain of 1.64%. A full year of Magnum sales and the introduction of the Commander boost Chrysler group sales an extra percentage point, but the biggest gain was from the new-generation rwd sedans and the Town and Country, with same-model sales up 3.83%. Chrysler's gains lifted DCX to a 2.78% gain in same-model sales, and 4.52% for all models. The big winner in 2005 was Suzuki, with same-model sales up 16.55% thanks to the popularity of the Forenza/Reno and the new Grand Vitara. At this pace Suzuki will soon pass Mitsubishi, the biggest loser among volume manufacturers. Even Isuzu managed flat sales from its sole continuing model (Ascender) down just 0.99%. They desperately need to be paired with Suzuki to generate showroom traffic.

[wildcat]

While I cannot discount the importance of the Buick Lucerne and the Buick Enclave being successful in the marketplace, I don't think it is correct to compare Buick's sales to Olds. Buick is no longer a full-line make; it is part of the Buick-Pontiac-GMC channel. You can't possibly expect it to sell today in numbers comparable to the past, given the model line-up. Buick's sales could have been down much worse, given that they discontinued the Century, Regal, LeSabre, and Park Avenue, and the remaining products were weak (mediocre LaCrosse, rebadged Terraza, aging Rendezvous). At the same time LeSabre was sold-out, Buick had no Lucernes to sell until very late in the year.

[thegriffon]

Very true. Chrysler went through the same thing in the changeover to the LX sedans. The Lucerne is in a segment all it's own, so it's hard to make reasonable comparisons. The LaCrosse is easier to compare, since their are a number of premium large-midsize sedans (ES330, Maxima, Azera etc.). It's far from being a segment leader, but is selling at competitive levels. The Super should help in future, but it needs the kind of detailed work that will appear in it's Chinese counterpart, the next Buick Regal.