General Motors Sales - June 2010

[Drew Dowdell]

Chevrolet-Buick-GMC-Cadillac

Sales Increase 36 Percent in June 2010

DETROIT – June sales for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac increased by a combined 36 percent to 194,828 units in the United States. This is the sixth straight month in which sales for GM's brands increased year-over-year by more than 20 percent. Year-to-date sales for the four brands also have risen 32 percent to 1,069,577 units – an increase of 258,368 units compared to last year.

The increase was fueled by the continuing success of the company's launch vehicles, its growing sales of compact, midsize and luxury crossovers, and some recovery in the markets for pickups and full-size SUVs.

The resurgence in large pickup truck sales was a key factor behind June's results, according to Don Johnson, vice president, U.S. Sales Operations. Combined sales of the Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Avalanche, and GMC Sierra were up 27 percent for the month, compared to June 2009 and are up 12 percent year-to-date.

"As companies continue to invest in their businesses, we expect this segment to continue to recover," said Johnson. "We think the release of some pent up demand in the pickup market is an indication that a fundamental part of the U.S. economy is gradually strengthening."

GM's launch vehicles continue to be a driving factor behind the company's sales increases. Retail sales of the Chevrolet Equinox and Camaro, Buick LaCrosse and Regal, GMC Terrain, and Cadillac SRX and CTS Wagon have increased 222 percent year-to-date through June and totaled 172,083. This represents about one out of every four retail sales for GM.

June Crossover Performance Keeps GM the Industry Crossover Leader

Chevrolet and GMC dealers reported 16,093 deliveries of the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain – a 208 percent improvement from June 2009. For the year, sales of these vehicles are up almost 193 percent, to 94,105 sales through June.

Mid-size crossovers Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia continued to show improvement. During June, their combined sales increased 39 percent. Year-to-date, they are up 28 percent.

The Cadillac SRX luxury crossover maintained its impressive run with an increase of 462 percent during the month. Year-to-date, SRX sales are up 488 percent.

Month-end dealer inventory in the U.S. stood at about 438,000 units, which is about 30,000 higher compared to May 2010, and about 144,000 lower than June 2009.

June Key Facts and Brand Results:

• Sixth consecutive month that sales for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac have increased by 20 percent or more.

• Ninth consecutive month of total and retail sales gains for GM's four brands.
• Fifth month in a row of total sales improvement for GM's full-size pickups.
• Fourth consecutive month of double-digit retail sales increases for GM's brands.
• Chevrolet:
  Chevrolet delivered 141,381 vehicles in June, a 32 percent gain year-over-year. This includes an 11 percent increase in retail sales, marking the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year retail sales gains. The largest sales increases were from Chevrolet line of full-size trucks. Silverado registered 30,994 total sales in June – a year-over-year increase of 25 percent, and posted the best retail sales month of the year.
• Buick:
  Buick posted a 53 percent sales increase in June compared to the same month last year. Year-to-date total sales for Buick are up 48 percent. Driven by the momentum around the LaCrosse and Enclave, retail sales saw a 28 percent increase for the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year retail sales increases, making June the best total sales month for Buick in 2010.
• GMC:
  GMC reported a 45 percent increase in total sales and 34 percent increase in retail sales in the month of June, compared to the same month last year. This is the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases for GMC, and for the calendar year GMC total sales were up 29 percent over last year.
• Cadillac:
  Total sales for June were up 39 percent versus the same month last year. Retail sales were up 35 percent. SRX total sales rose 462 percent for its 10th straight month of triple-digit percentage increases. CTS posted its best retail month of the year. CTS total sales were up 31 percent and retail sales were up 23 percent.
• GM's Full-Size Utilities Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe, and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL increased 69 percent during the month, totaling 15,192 deliveries. Year-to-date, sales of these vehicles are up 19 percent.
• Fleet sales for GM's four brands were 59,571 for the month.

[Brougham-Holiday]

GM's newest products continue to do well. I see Impala and Malibu had good months, I wonder how much of that was fleet sales?

They've sold over 400 Regals without any advertising, not bad.

[Z-06]

I think GM should stop the 4 core brand spin to elevate the sales gain. Actual sales increase was only 11% compared to last year. Where did the non core brand customers go considering the overall sales for the industry grew by about 15-17% this month? Technically GM is still losing market share.

About 31,000 sales belonged to the non-core brands last year. If the same 36% gain would have taken into account for the non-core brands, GM would have been looking at around 238,000 sales. Even if the 4 non-core would have grown by industry average, it is still 230,000 vehicle sales.

Another caveat, GM entered bankruptcy last June and its sales were abysmal. So while this is a good news, there is nothing to cheer about or call victory. GM has a lot of work to do and better products to fill the gaping holes should be done faster than anticipated originally.

[siegen]

I think GM should stop the 4 core brand spin to elevate the sales gain. Actual sales increase was only 11% compared to last year. Where did the non core brand customers go considering the overall sales for the industry grew by about 15-17% this month? Technically GM is still losing market share.

About 31,000 sales belonged to the non-core brands last year. If the same 36% gain would have taken into account for the non-core brands, GM would have been looking at around 238,000 sales. Even if the 4 non-core would have grown by industry average, it is still 230,000 vehicle sales.

Another caveat, GM entered bankruptcy last June and its sales were abysmal. So while this is a good news, there is nothing to cheer about or call victory. GM has a lot of work to do and better products to fill the gaping holes should be done faster than anticipated originally.

Thank you. I was going to comment (like I do every month) on GM's core brand spin, but you have saved me the trouble!

GM is bouncing back. I wonder where they want to be sales wise. Considering they sold around 400,000/month a number of years back, they are still about 50% down from their peak. I don't anticipate they'll regain that in full, unless they took over the Hyundai/Kia market. Quality over quantity is a better way for GM to proceed into the future.

[siegen]

GM's newest products continue to do well. I see Impala and Malibu had good months, I wonder how much of that was fleet sales?

They've sold over 400 Regals without any advertising, not bad.

It says right in there that they sold 59,571 vehicles to fleet. That is roughly 30% of their monthly sales.

If anyone is curious, here are 2008 model year fleet numbers and percentages by manufacturer. A little outdated, but that appears to be the most recent data available.

[Drew Dowdell]

Yeah, they sold more with 50% fewer brands than they sold last year at this time, but I'm still not happy with the spin.

[67impss]

GM's newest products continue to do well. I see Impala and Malibu had good months, I wonder how much of that was fleet sales?

They've sold over 400 Regals without any advertising, not bad.

I was wondering where you guys got your # from, I didn't see any link

Was wondering about Camaro Vs Mustang & CTS wagon #'s

Edited July 2, 2010 by 67impss

[Chicagoland]

It's more important to make profits for GM to pay off the bailout. No company can exists selling cars to rental fleets at losses to 'keep plants going'.

"Where did the non core brand customers go?" I see alot of Kias in Avis, National and Budget lots at OHare Airport, so all the G6's were replaced with those. Let Korea get loss leading rental sales.

Edited July 14, 2010 by Chicagoland

[RjION]

This old GM buyer finds nothing in the core he wants to buy.