Third-Quarter 2018: General Motors Co.

[William Maley]

GM Delivered Nearly 700,000 Vehicles and Record Average Transaction Prices in the Third Quarter

• harply lower incentives and healthy inventory levels
• Double-digit growth in large SUVs
• Best third quarter for midsize pickup sales since 2004
• Strong commercial sales growth continues

DETROIT — General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) dealers delivered 694,638 vehicles in the third quarter of 2018 in the United States, with average transaction prices (ATPs) rising about $700 per unit year over year to a new third quarter record of $35,974.

The driving forces behind GM’s record ATPs – which are $4,000 above the industry average – include strong sales of trucks, SUVs and crossovers, and sharply lower incentive spending. During the third quarter, GM’s incentive spending was below the industry average and 2 – 6 percentage points below domestic and many Asian competitors.

“We entered the quarter with very lean inventories of our 2018 model full-size pickups, so we focused on driving a very strong mix of SUVs, crossovers and mid-size pickups,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of Sales Operations. “We also transitioned to the 2019 model year far earlier than some key competitors, which allowed us to reduce incentives while others raised them sharply.”

Sales declined 11 percent year over year, with the impact of hurricanes sharply increasing industry and GM sales a year ago and depressing them somewhat this year. The third quarter light vehicle SAAR was 17.2 million units in 2017 and 16.9 million in 2018.

“The U.S. economy and auto industry remain strong,” added GM Chief Economist Elaine Buckberg. “A new United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will reduce uncertainty for the auto industry and all three countries. Consumer confidence is high and rising, thanks to the robust job market, faster wage growth and the boost to take-home pay from tax reform. We believe 2018 will be the fourth year in a row with total industry sales above 17 million units.”

“Our brands are very well-positioned for the fourth quarter when our next wave of new products start shipping in high volume,” McNeil added.

Key new product launches are all on track: Dealers began receiving their first shipments of light duty 2019 Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierras in September. During the month, Cadillac dealers also began delivering the first-ever XT4 compact crossover. Late in the fourth quarter, Chevrolet will begin production of the all-new Blazer crossover.

Third Quarter Sales Highlights (vs. 2017)

• Combined sales of the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban and the GMC Yukon full-size SUVs were up 12 percent. The Cadillac Escalade was up 2 percent.
• GM’s mid-size pickups, the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, were up a combined 6 percent. It was the best third quarter for GM midsize pickup sales since 2004, driven by the Chevrolet Colorado, which posted its best-ever third quarter sales.
• The newest crossovers from Chevrolet, Buick and GMC, the Traverse, Enclave and Terrain, were up 3 percent, 7 percent, and 14 percent, respectively.
• Several passenger car lines posted higher sales, including the Chevrolet Sonic, Spark and Volt, the Cadillac CTS and XTS and the Buick Regal and Cascada.
• GM’s commercial deliveries, which grew at an average annual rate of 7 percent from 2012-2017, have been strong all year. Deliveries were up 8 percent in the third quarter and up 12 percent calendar year to date.
• At the end of the quarter, about one-third of GM sales were 2019 models.

Strong Operating Discipline

• GM’s incentive spending during the third quarter was 12.0 percent of ATP, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates, below the industry average of 12.1 percent and 2-6 percentage points below domestic and some Asian competitors.
• GM’s third quarter incentive spending was sharply lower than the company’s first half average, which was 13.6 percent. Spending was down 1.6 percentage points year over year in the quarter.
• GM’s fleet deliveries, up 5 percent year over year, were about 21 percent of total sales during the quarter. More than half of sales were to Commercial and government customers.
• Rental deliveries are on track to be about 10 percent of total sales for the calendar year, equal to 2017 among the industry leaders.
• Inventories are at healthy levels, down about 22,000 units year over year at the end of the quarter.

[G. David Felt]

I am really liking this more and more reporting only Quarterly. I think all Auto Companies should do this, way better gauge of business success than just month to month.

[smk4565]

Envision and XT5 dropped about 25% and the Acadia was down nearly 50%.  In an SUV crazed market, that is concerning.

It is actually sad to see the Malibu down 45% because it is just a sign that car companies are going to quit making sedans one day, and I don't like SUVs and will never buy one. 

[ocnblu]

I am liking the Terrain more all the time.  I wish they would have continued the V6 option.  I suppose the 2.0t is fun to drive though.

Dealers are discounting 2019 Rams like crazy and they are making real inroads against the Silverado, saleswise.  Dealer in Glen Burnie, MD is selling Ram Big Horn quad cab 4X4s, MSRP over $44k, for $34k.  With the agonizingly slow transition from old to new Silverado/Sierra, GM might drop to #3 behind Ram if they're not careful.  Crowing about low incentive spending might backfire.

Bolt sales?  My oh my 

[smk4565]

There is so much margin on pickups, if I wanted market share I'd offer big discounts too because they are still turning profit on those Rams.  Why Toyota doesn't take the full size pick up segment more seriously is beyond me.  They should have a new Tundra every 5 years and a hybrid version getting 30 mpg, they have boatloads of cash in their coffers and they see Ford selling 80,000 F150's a month, even if Toyota stole 10,000 off them, with the margin on these trucks that is a lot of profit.

[A Horse With No Name]

18 hours ago, smk4565 said:

There is so much margin on pickups, if I wanted market share I'd offer big discounts too because they are still turning profit on those Rams.  Why Toyota doesn't take the full size pick up segment more seriously is beyond me.  They should have a new Tundra every 5 years and a hybrid version getting 30 mpg, they have boatloads of cash in their coffers and they see Ford selling 80,000 F150's a month, even if Toyota stole 10,000 off them, with the margin on these trucks that is a lot of profit.

Your average F150 buyer is not going to switch to Toyota. 

21 hours ago, ocnblu said:

I am liking the Terrain more all the time.  I wish they would have continued the V6 option.  I suppose the 2.0t is fun to drive though.

Dealers are discounting 2019 Rams like crazy and they are making real inroads against the Silverado, saleswise.  Dealer in Glen Burnie, MD is selling Ram Big Horn quad cab 4X4s, MSRP over $44k, for $34k.  With the agonizingly slow transition from old to new Silverado/Sierra, GM might drop to #3 behind Ram if they're not careful.  Crowing about low incentive spending might backfire.

Bolt sales?  My oh my 

I am really liking the new RAM. 

[smk4565]

3 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Your average F150 buyer is not going to switch to Toyota

Why not, all of Ford’s car buyers left for Toyota.  If Toyota has a segment leading truck they would steal sales, but they have the worst truck.

[A Horse With No Name]

12 hours ago, smk4565 said:

Why not, all of Ford’s car buyers left for Toyota.  If Toyota has a segment leading truck they would steal sales, but they have the worst truck.

Because Ford is sleep walking when it comes to most of their cars, but not the Mustang or F150.  Besides, there is a LOT of loyalty in the F150 camp. 

On 10/2/2018 at 6:57 PM, ocnblu said:

I am liking the Terrain more all the time.  I wish they would have continued the V6 option.  I suppose the 2.0t is fun to drive though.

Dealers are discounting 2019 Rams like crazy and they are making real inroads against the Silverado, saleswise.  Dealer in Glen Burnie, MD is selling Ram Big Horn quad cab 4X4s, MSRP over $44k, for $34k.  With the agonizingly slow transition from old to new Silverado/Sierra, GM might drop to #3 behind Ram if they're not careful.  Crowing about low incentive spending might backfire.

Bolt sales?  My oh my 

I saw a new terrain this morning, hot. 

[G. David Felt]

GM Delivers 835,934 Vehicles in China in Third Quarter

Cadillac

• Cadillac sales grew 4 percent from a year earlier to 46,020 units, achieving a new third quarter record.
•  The XT5 luxury SUV remained the brand’s best-seller, with deliveries of 14,986 units.
• Sales of the XTS luxury sedan jumped 29 percent to 13,784 units.
• The CT6 prestige sedan had 28 percent growth in sales to 3,843 units.
• The XT4 compact luxury SUV was launched in August, becoming the brand’s first entry in one of the market’s fastest-growing segments.

Chevrolet

• Chevrolet continued its product changeover, delivering 118,240 units.
• Chevrolet’s best-selling nameplate, the Cavalier, had a sales increase of 6.3 percent to 48,482 units.
• The Equinox global SUV achieved sales growth of 29 percent to 18,561 units.
• In September, the Orlando seven-seater was launched to meet the needs of consumers with varied lifestyles.

Buick

• Buick sales totaled 251,581 units.
• The brand is undergoing a technology changeover, shifting to the use of cutting-edge small displacement engines that offer further improved performance and efficiency.
• Buick’s best-seller, the Excelle GT sedan, sold 61,512 units.

• The Buick Regal sedan had deliveries of 26,994 units, up 73 percent from a year earlier.

Baojun

• Baojun deliveries totaled 188,751 units.
• The Baojun 510 SUV, with 70,415 units sold, remained the brand’s best-seller.
• The Baojun 360, a new six-seat MPV for commuting and family use launched in May, had deliveries of 29,042 units.
• Baojun’s second electric vehicle, the E200, went on sale in September; it includes more than 200 upgrades from its popular sibling, the E100 electric vehicle.

Wuling

• Wuling sold 231,342 units, sustaining its leadership in mini-commercial vehicles.
• The Hong Guang MPV family, Wuling’s best-selling series and China’s top-performing MPV nameplate, had deliveries of 92,983 units.

https://media.gm.com/media/cn/en/gm/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/cn/en/2018/Oct/1008_sales.html 

Looking at the GM Media center for sales info and what is going on with GM. I get the feeling GM is in glory days of sales and partnering with child safety groups and other groups around China as they drive brand awareness. China is clearly outselling the US for GM auto's.