September 2009 Sales - General Motors - 156,673

[Drew Dowdell]

GM September Sales - 156,673

• Cash for Clunkers conclusion, weak consumer confidence and extremely low inventory levels adversely affected the industry and GM sales results
• GM market share was down year-over-year compared with a strong, incentive-driven September 2008; however, the anticipated 21 percent share this month would be the highest so far in 2009
• Sales of the red-hot, all-new Chevrolet Equinox up 94 percent compared with September 2008
• Led by a sales increase of 105 percent compared with a month ago, sales of the new Cadillac SRX pushed total Cadillac sales up 64 percent
• Other key launch products, including the GMC Terrain, Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon and Chevrolet Camaro, greatly exceeded sales expectations and current ability to supply

DETROIT – General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 156,673vehicles in September. When compared with strong sales a year ago, September's sales were down 45 percent. GM retail sales were down 46 percent while fleet sales declined 43 percent. When comparing GM's September total sales with a strong August, and the conclusion of the Cash for Clunkers program, volume was down 36 percent month-over-month.

"September was a tough transitional month for the industry, and a difficult year-over-year comparison for GM. Fortunately, the fourth quarter looks brighter and our year-over-year comparisons should look more favorable," said Mark LaNeve, vice president, U.S. sales. "We have the Cadillac SRX, Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain hitting dealerships right now, generating significant buyer interest, and we're selling many of our launch vehicles as soon as they hit dealers' lots."

"As expected, the market returned to pre-Cash for Clunkers levels in September, but we believe that our four core brands – Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac – are well positioned with new products to generate enthusiasm with our 60-Day Satisfaction Guarantee and 'May the Best Car Win' marketing campaigns," he continued. "We're gearing-up fourth quarter production to replenish depleted dealer stocks and improve availability of our vehicles for customers."

There were several product highlights in September for GM's core brands:

• Buick car sales, led by LaCrosse and Lucerne, increased 50 percent compared with August. Total Buick sales increased 10 percent.

• The luxury segments started to show improvement as Cadillac car truck and total sales all increased compared with the previous month, led by SRX (up 105 percent), CTS (up 35 percent), DTS (up 174 percent) and STS (up 29 percent). Escalade sales increased 28 percent.

• Chevrolet launch products continue to perform strongly in the market. There were 6,900 Traverse, 6,800 Equinox and 8,000 Camaro sales recorded in September.

• GMC Terrain sales continue to build launch momentum with a 183 percent increase from the previous month.

A total of 1,011 GM hybrid vehicles were delivered in the month. So far, in 2009, GM has delivered 12,555 hybrid vehicles.

Non-core brand total sales, when compared with a year ago, showed the impact of the end of the Cash for Clunkers program and overall market demand. Pontiac sales declined 53 percent; Saturn was down 84 percent, HUMMER dropped 82 percent and Saab declined 73 percent.

GM inventories dropped compared with a year ago, and remained at very low levels. At the end of September, about 424,000 vehicles were in stock, down about 294,000 vehicles (or 41 percent) compared with last year, and down approximately 9 percent compared with August. There were about 157,000 cars and 267,000 trucks (including crossovers) in inventory at the end of September.

GM Certified Sales

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 22,885 vehicles in September.

GM Certified Used Vehicles sold 19,877 vehicles, down 34 percent from last month. Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 1,819 vehicles, down 44 percent. Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 692 vehicles, down 15 percent. Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 362 vehicles, down 47 percent. HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 135 vehicles, down 30 percent.

"September was a tough month for all Certified programs. However, consumers continue to see value in the GM Certified brands," LaNeve said. "Our quarterly customer satisfaction surveys are a proof point with GM Certified Used Vehicles scoring high in value for the money, brand name and dealer reputation. Quality is an important factor and we continue to deliver with our industry-leading 100,000 mile/five-year (whichever comes first) limited powertrain warranty, and the 12-month/12,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty."

GM North America Reports September 2009 Production;
Third Quarter Production at 533,000 Vehicles; Fourth Quarter Forecast Remains at 655,000 Vehicles

In September, GM North America produced 233,000 vehicles (88,000 cars and 145,000 trucks). This is down 102,000 vehicles or 30 percent compared with September 2008, when the region produced 335,000 vehicles (162,000 cars and 173,000 trucks). (Production totals include joint venture production of 12,000 vehicles in September 2009 and 18,000 vehicles in September 2008).

The GM North America third quarter production was 533,000 vehicles (207,000 cars and 326,000 trucks), which was down 42 percent compared with a year ago. GM North America built 915,000 vehicles (436,000 cars and 479,000 trucks) in the third-quarter of 2008. However, Q3 2009 production volumes have substantially increased versus Q1 and Q2 2009 production volumes of 371,000 (up 44 percent) and 395,000 (up 35 percent), respectively.

The region's 2009 fourth quarter production forecast remains at 655,000 vehicles (262,000 cars and 393,000 trucks), which is down about 20 percent compared with a year ago. GM North America built 815,000 vehicles (365,000 cars and 450,000 trucks) in the fourth quarter of 2008. However, Q4 2009 production volumes represent over a 20 percent increase compared with Q3 2009.

GM September 2009 Sales Press Release

[regfootball]

some positivity in there in bits. gm needs a lot of new models.

[Chicagoland]

I'm glad the new LaCrosse is doing OK. I've seen quite a few without rental bar code stickers, and driven by under 60 y/o people! Only saw one rental LAX so far, but it still stood out.

[A Horse With No Name]

Glad to see Buick up, also glad to see some positive sales momentum.

Chris

[siegen]

When compared with strong sales a year ago

Does this line appear in every single sales report? Even after year-after-year-after-year sales declines?

(that was a rhetorical question btw)

[smk4565]

Same old, same old. This is 10 or 12 months in a row of declines around 45% and GM's PR people trying to put a positive spin on it.

I wonder if they are ever going to make money again, and how does the government get some of that $60 billion back.

[Drew Dowdell]

Same old, same old. This is 10 or 12 months in a row of declines around 45% and GM's PR people trying to put a positive spin on it.

I wonder if they are ever going to make money again, and how does the government get some of that $60 billion back.

Buick, Cadillac (even the STS and DTS), and the new models at Chevy are all doing well... how is that bad?

The government gets it's money back when GM IPOs in 2010 and the government can start to sell off it's stock.

[CaddyXLR-V]

Buick, Cadillac (even the STS and DTS), and the new models at Chevy are all doing well... how is that bad?

The government gets it's money back when GM IPOs in 2010 and the government can start to sell off it's stock.

How is the STS and DTS doing good? The DTS was up over last month, but down compared to last year. ~1500 sales is good?

[Drew Dowdell]

How is the STS and DTS doing good? The DTS was up over last month, but down compared to last year. ~1500 sales is good?

Cadillac sold 3,400 CTSes v. Lexus selling 3,300 ISes, STS is neck to neck with the GS, DTS outsold LS over 3 to 1 at 2,282 v. 501, Escalade sold 4 times the amount of GX and LX combined, even the out of production XLR outsold the in production SC by 3 to 1. Buick sold 4,300 Lucernes and 2,300 Lacrosses v. Lexus's 3,400 ESes, and the LaCrosse isn't even fully stocked yet.

The only bright spot for Lexus was the near 100% rise over last year in RX sales to apparently crosseyed customers at 8,228 v. 2,866 for the not quite out of the gate SRX.

Why is Cadillac the "failure" and Lexus the winner again? Had the RX sold at not-new-release levels, (and the ES which now competes with Buick) and Lexus would have sold fewer vehicles than Cadillac.

[smk4565]

Lexus sales: 17,939

Mercedes sales: 16,985

BMW sales: 15,047

Cadillac sales: 11,339

Chevy was down 40.7%, there is no way that is good. Even with the success of the Camaro and Equinox, and products like the Malibu and Traverse which are still pretty new, they still dropped that much. Plus Pontiac and GMC were down over 50%, Saturn down over 80%, Chevy must not be picking up those sales if they themselves are down 40%.

[smk4565]

Buick, Cadillac (even the STS and DTS), and the new models at Chevy are all doing well... how is that bad?

The government gets it's money back when GM IPOs in 2010 and the government can start to sell off it's stock.

The Government put $60 billion in. At GM's all time stock price high during year 2000, they had a market cap of $56 billion. And that was a time when GM was selling a lot more cars and the economy was in better shape. They would be lucky to get $20-30 billion back from the IPO. I think the government should tax GM's profits at 100% until the money is paid back, if they ever make a profit again.

[gmcbob]

I've seen one new LaCrosse on the road here in Houston - and it was a rental (in my parking lot at work). I've seen one or two new Equinox's and handful of Camaros.

GM must be doing a lot better in other markets.

Most of the newer cars around here are Toyota's. Typically, if I see a new car with paper plates it's either a Toyota, a Nissan or a Honda. I periodically see a new Chevy Tahoe or something, but none of these new Eqiunox's or LaCrosse's or anything like that. Based on my observations, I would say that GM accounts for like 5% of the new car market around here, maybe less. Probably more like 2%. At any given point in traffic, I'll look around and see that I'm probably driving the only GM car within 10 cars of me - other than maybe some guy's Chevy work van or something. Especially in the more uppity areas of town. It's weird.

Yeah, if it's a GM product around here - it's a truck or a Tahoe.

[Drew Dowdell]

Lexus sales: 17,939

Mercedes sales: 16,985

BMW sales: 15,047

Cadillac sales: 11,339

Chevy was down 40.7%, there is no way that is good. Even with the success of the Camaro and Equinox, and products like the Malibu and Traverse which are still pretty new, they still dropped that much. Plus Pontiac and GMC were down over 50%, Saturn down over 80%, Chevy must not be picking up those sales if they themselves are down 40%.

Benz, BMW, and Lexus all have more models than Cadillac. GM covers the same market with two brands rather than one. Either take away Lexus's ES and HS sales or let Cadillac count Buick's sales as an additional luxury division..... any why not? Scion gets counted with Toyota. Doing it this way, there is a GM model priced for roughly every Lexus model offered.

Cadillac + Buick = 20,794

IS - CTS

HS - Lacrosse - I know not the same vehicle, but similarly priced and both entry level to the brand

ES - Lucerne

GS - STS

LS - DTS

SC - XLR

RX - SRX

LX - Enclave

GX - Escalade

[gmcbob]

Oh yeah, I've seen approximately 0 new SRX's on the road here too.

Okay, I see new CTS's almost every day - but compared to say, G35's or IS350's or something, they're outnumbered like 7 to 1.

GM just has a lot of work to do in markets that aren't tied too heavily to the auto industry and/or are geographically distanced from Michigan. I may be slightly exaggerating here on how few the numbers of new GM cars and trucks I see, but it truly is astounding how they really have a very small presence here in Houston, especially compared to the Big 3 Japanese companies.

Houston is an insanely diverse city with a somewhat stable economy and large population that bases their entire lives around the automobile (we have a poor mass transit system and we're very spread out). GM needs to do better here I think.

[A Horse With No Name]

Would be nice if they did better in Houston.

So much for people in Republican areas driving domestics. I think a big part of the problem is the gap GM seems to ahve with Hispanics and Females.

I would love to see some actual numbers on both demographics, but GM may have some work to do in both population segments.

[smk4565]

Benz, BMW, and Lexus all have more models than Cadillac. GM covers the same market with two brands rather than one. Either take away Lexus's ES and HS sales or let Cadillac count Buick's sales as an additional luxury division..... any why not? Scion gets counted with Toyota. Doing it this way, there is a GM model priced for roughly every Lexus model offered.

Cadillac + Buick = 20,794

IS - CTS

HS - Lacrosse - I know not the same vehicle, but similarly priced and both entry level to the brand

ES - Lucerne

GS - STS

LS - DTS

SC - XLR

RX - SRX

LX - Enclave

GX - Escalade

But Buicks are cheaper, the LaCrosse and Lucerne are under $30k and the Enclave starts at $35k. A Lexus GX starts at $47k, an ES350 starts at $35k. Somehow a Lexus LX starts at $76,000, I have no idea way anyone would buy that monstrosity. And Mercedes operates at a much higher price point than Cadillac or Lexus.

And maybe Cadillac should have worked on a small car 10 years ago rather than wasting money and time on Saturn, Pontiac, Saab, Hummer. If they had the ATS and nailed it, it could sell 5,000 units a month.

[A Horse With No Name]

And maybe and maybe and maybe and maybe.

maybe the moon should ahve been made of blu cheese and the earth should have been created in 9 days by a giant supernatural house cat with seven claws on each paw.

Be grateful that Cadillac has some really good, creative product that they are building and that the future is actually looking up for the wreath and crest.

Even if your a Toyota Humper from Toyota Nation it's better for you that Cadillac Stay around. Without competition, carmakers tend to get really lazy.

Chris

[gmcbob]

Would be nice if they did better in Houston.

So much for people in Republican areas driving domestics. I think a big part of the problem is the gap GM seems to ahve with Hispanics and Females.

I would love to see some actual numbers on both demographics, but GM may have some work to do in both population segments.

I will say this though about Houston - I see a TON of the newer F-150's around here.

I do see a lot of newer domestics on the road, but it's mainly trucks and the larger BOF SUV's.

There are some new domestic cars sprinkled about the automotive landscape I suppose, but it just seems like Toyota basically rules the roost when it comes to mid size and compact cars. I'm even starting to see a lot of those new Venza's on the road. Toyota just does real well in this market. It may have a lot to do with marketing.

It may also be a little bit of a function of the conservative leaning right wing voters who tend to buy into the idea that they shouldn't buy products from GM, because GM is now "Government Motors". And/or they're generally opposed to anything the new Obama Administration is involved in. I'm not really sure if there's a real strong correlation there though. There's so many different types of people that live here now that who can really say?

Edited October 2, 2009 by gmcbob

[A Horse With No Name]

I think perhaps the Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus will help the domestics sell more small cars in Import happy areas.

Getting a bad feeling about the Cruze, looks good...but not sure it's going to turn the marketing tide in GM's favor.

Toyota does really well in the south, I lived in Atlanta for a year and a half and Toyota does really well there. They are also picking up in the Carolinas where my parents live.

I would love to talk to a really good marketing insider who knew why certain cars sold well in some areas and not in others.

Chris

[Robert Hall]

I think perhaps the Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus will help the domestics sell more small cars in Import happy areas.

Getting a bad feeling about the Cruze, looks good...but not sure it's going to turn the marketing tide in GM's favor.

Toyota does really well in the south, I lived in Atlanta for a year and a half and Toyota does really well there. They are also picking up in the Carolinas where my parents live.

Chris

And as I know from 13 years in the West (Colorado and Arizona), Toyota does extremely well in parts of the West...

Rob

[Robert Hall]

Would be nice if they did better in Houston.

So much for people in Republican areas driving domestics. I think a big part of the problem is the gap GM seems to ahve with Hispanics and Females.

I would love to see some actual numbers on both demographics, but GM may have some work to do in both population segments.

The thing I observed living in a very conservative Republican area (Colorado Springs) was that American trucks were very popular, yet in cars, it was Toyota and (to a lesser degree Honda and Nissan) that dominated, and SUVs (a huge market segment in Colorado) were fairly evenly split between domestics and imports.. and that was in '97-02.

[regfootball]

i don't think toyotas loyalty is rock solid. for example, i think lots of toyo fans would be fine buying hyundais, subarus or other japanese makes.

honda fans are definitely more loyal.

time to go read my 2010 VW brochures and off to bed. Golf, Jetta, CC, GTI!

Edited October 2, 2009 by regfootball

[siegen]

Benz, BMW, and Lexus all have more models than Cadillac. GM covers the same market with two brands rather than one. Either take away Lexus's ES and HS sales or let Cadillac count Buick's sales as an additional luxury division..... any why not? Scion gets counted with Toyota. Doing it this way, there is a GM model priced for roughly every Lexus model offered.

Cadillac + Buick = 20,794

IS - CTS

HS - Lacrosse - I know not the same vehicle, but similarly priced and both entry level to the brand

ES - Lucerne

GS - STS

LS - DTS

SC - XLR

RX - SRX

LX - Enclave

GX - Escalade

Buick is a mainstream brand. Cars like the Avalon compete with Buick sedans, IMHO.

As far as who sells more, I personally don't care.

[Brougham-Holiday]

I live in New England, and area long ago lost to the imports. I have yet to see a new Lacrosse, SRX or Terrain. I have seen 1 or 2 Equinox on the road so far. I have seen a few Camaros since they just about stop traffic in a sea of Accords and Altimas.

Here no one is considering the majority of GM products (Impala, Lucerne, DTS, Cobalt, Aveo, etc)

For all makes this sale chart was poor. GM is still doing higher volume then most, but I wonder how many of those sales are fleet and how many are well optioned models. At least GM PR is still trying to put a positive spin on it.

[4gm]

I live in Los Angeles and have seen quite of few new Camaro's this past month. The drivers were young and old. The CTS is a common sight here. I've already seen a couple of Equinoxes and expect it to do very well. I think the more liberal states aren't as biased against the domestics as people assume. They just want a product that appeals to them. GM's SUV's sold like gangbusters out here. The Cruze is going to be a sales disappointment. It's too bland to get people's attention.

[gmcbob]

I would love to see market share percentage by region or city. For the most part, I'm sure it would be pretty predictable. Some areas may be kind of surprising though.

I've taken a lot of road trips over the years, and aside from enjoying the scenery and the towns, I also get a kick out of seeing what people drive in certain regions. It always seems that out in the rural areas, the domestics tend to dominate, and as I get in towards the cities, I start seeing the mix become more 50/50 - or more in favor of imports.

So my observation from last year, when I drove from Houston up to Buffalo, NY and then back down through the Appalachians to Atlanta and back to Houston was actually kind of interesting. I decided to go through Indiana and Illinois on I-70 and then across through Ohio. I remember seeing a lot of Big 3 (American) cars in Illinois and Indiana. But I remember as I crossed into Ohio, being slightly surprised at seeing a lot of Toyotas and Hondas on the road there. Of course the Western NY area seemed to be dominated by GM and Ford. It was almost the polar opposite of Houston, where at any given intersection you would see nothing but Camry's and Accord's. In Buffalo, at any given intersection, I would see almost nothing but new Malibu's, Aura's and Fusions. Of course as I worked my way back South, it became more import friendly again.

I think there are multiple reasons why this happens. First and foremost -there must be something to do with the fact there are so many companies in the Midwest (and Western NY) that directly supply parts and services to the Auto companies. Secondly, I think because there are so many suppliers to the auto companies, even people that don't directly work for those companies know someone who does, so there may be a sense of camaraderie. So that really brings us to the idea of "values" or American "pride" I suppose. The Midwest lost so many jobs to the Asians during the 70s and 80s in manufacturing, that that regional resentment probably hasn't worn off that much - even going into 2010.

Down here in Houston, we have virtually no ties to traditional manufacturing. We have the oil and chemical industries and now we have a burgeoning medical center (they do a lot of cancer research here). People who work in those industries typically don't have a "buy American" no matter what mindset.

I guess when it comes down to it, we're just not a manufacturing country anymore. The fact that companies like Toyota and Honda (and now Hyundai) are doing as well as they are doesn't surprise me in the least.

[CK001]

Buick, Cadillac (even the STS and DTS), and the new models at Chevy are all doing well... how is that bad?

The government gets it's money back when GM IPOs in 2010 and the government can start to sell off it's stock.

According to Edmunds, Cadillac had $12K on the hood of two or three of it's models. I don't recall which ones but it isn't too far-fectched to assume that the two most dated models in the lineup would probably be likely candidates.

[A Horse With No Name]

time to go read my 2010 VW brochures and off to bed. Golf, Jetta, CC, GTI!

GTI FTW!