GM Delivers 345,157 Vehicles In May
Combined Sales of New Full-Size Utilities Up 41 Percent vs. April
Solid Chevy HHR and Pontiac Torrent Sales Drive Small Utility Increase of 34 Percent
Sales Impacted By Reductions In Incentive Programs and Daily Rental Sales

DETROIT - General Motors dealers in the United States sold 345,157 new cars and trucks in May, down 16 percent compared to year-ago levels, reflecting continued strategic reductions in incentives and daily rentals, which were down 28 percent.

Total car sales were down 19 percent, and truck sales were down 13 percent. While high gas prices continue to have some impact, consumers have responded favorably to GM's new products, particularly the all-new 2007 Chevy Tahoe (11,689 sales), Avalanche (1,692) and Suburban (5,128), GMC Yukon/Yukon XL (7,965) and Cadillac Escalade (2,945) and Escalade ESV (1,097), resulting in a combined 41 percent sales increase compared to April.

"The overall industry in May was dampened by rising fuel prices and interest rates. GM is actively addressing consumers' concerns with its segment-leading fuel economy and a pilot program like the 'Fuel Price Protection Program,' which helps consumers battle the uncertainty of gas price fluctuations," said Mark LaNeve, General Motors North America vice president, Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing.

A very encouraging trend was the continued success of GM's new vehicles. LaNeve explained, "Our launch vehicles continue to post strong sales results, as evidenced by the sales gains of our all-new full-size utilities and strong retail sales of important new products including the Chevrolet Impala, HHR and Cobalt, Buick Lucerne, Pontiac G6 and Torrent." LaNeve added, "Our May sales volume was not where we need it to be. It clearly was impacted by our reduced reliance on daily rental sales and broad-based incentive programs to drive the business."

"Our customers have told us that success in the marketplace depends on a combination of great new products, strong brands and segment-leading fuel economy, and that is exactly the turnaround strategy we are executing," LaNeve said.

GM's luxury utilities posted strong sales in May, up 34 percent compared to year-ago levels. H3 sales led HUMMER to its thirteenth consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases. Total HUMMER sales were up 53 percent. Cadillac Escalade sales rose 50 percent in May, paced by continuing brisk demand for the all-new 2007 model. Cadillac Escalade ESV sales started strong with 1,097 sold.

The newest additions to GM's small utility lineup, Chevrolet HHR and Pontiac Torrent, helped push total small utility sales up 34 percent.

GM sports cars also posted solid May sales results, with a 44 percent improvement compared to year-ago levels. Corvette led the lineup with a 3.5 percent increase with 3,317 deliveries. Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky are selling briskly, with Solstice remaining on dealers' lots an average of 13 days and Sky remaining on lots 2 days.

Total sales of all GM launch vehicles were up 12.5 percent compared to April and accounted for 24 percent of GM's total deliveries for the month. The success of GM's launch vehicles is another critical component of GM's North America restructuring plan.

GM will continue to introduce an array of new vehicles throughout 2006, including the all-new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups, the fuel-efficient Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrid to be introduced this fall, and GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook crossovers coming late this year.

http://www.gm.com/company/investor_i...on/sales_prod/

Not a lot to say about the article, but I can assume that sales numbers are going to plumit next month because that was the first month of the employee discount for everyone... yet GM still will probably make more money on lower volume.

GMT900 trucks cant get here soon enough, along with the Aura and Outlook/Enclave.

On a personal note, I finally saw the new Avalanche on the street (previously I only saw it at the autoshow) and it looks great. If I were in the market for a new truck that would be the only one on my list.

 

Wow the Sky on lots for 2 days?

Good news for GM

 

2 days?



all of the local saturn dealers around here have had them sold for months.

 

Im not sure how they come up with that number, because the local dealer still has a waiting list for the Solstice and evidently that sits on lots for 13 days...

 

Haha , the Saturn dealer I used to work for wont have a Sky to stock until 2007 . Every one they could get this year is already pre-sold .

 

yea... what really counts is if they can get rid of their crutches, and still make money.. even if it means selling less... once they got that fixed, the market share will then again follow (assuming they keep putting out better and better vehicles)..

Looking at how well their launch vehicles are doing, things look hopeful.

 

Good news for GM

 

All I heard today on AM radio was how GM Ford and DCX sales were way down and Toyota and Honda we recording record sales because they get better mileage. It is the bay area radio though. They hate everything American... It sounds better reading it here.

 

Declining sales is kind of a false grim message.
1st quarter financial results were great.
So I agree with this philosophy, even if sales are down now, once profit returns, then there's more investment for even better products, which will push sales back up.

 

Anyone know what the definition of a "launch" vehicle is?

 

The first model year of a all-new or significantly new vehicle.

Example: 2007 GMT-900's, 2006 Impala, 2005 Corvette, etc.

 

Another thing is that while GM's sales volume is slipping, three of its big movers - trucks, Impala and Malibu, are all being replaced soon. Did we ever get a winky timeframe on the Impala and Malibu replacements? What about the Cobalt replacement? That already has two years under its belt, if GM is serious about keeping product new then it'll be time for at least a mid cycle refresh.

It seems GM understands the niche market now (see: HHR, Solstice, Sky, C6, Camaro concept), hopefully that translates well to the volume market.

 

I thought all of the Sky and Solstice production was sold out, so shouldn't they be on dealer lots 0 days?

 

needs to be PDI'd and the person needs to come get it.

 

oh ... well that explains it.

the local saturn dealer down here won't even call the owner of the new sky until another sky gets delivered in to take its spot inside on the showroom floor.

so if thats how they figure it than their skys are on the lot for quite awhile.


that pretty much invalidates those statistics for at least the sky/solstice.