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GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

Old Jan 4, 2006 | 02:08 PM
  #1  
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GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

Chevrolet Reclaims Industry Sales Leadership for First Time Since 1986
GM Posts Best Full-Size Pickup Sales in Industry Since 1978
GM Continues Luxury Brand Sales Momentum
HUMMER Caps Record Year with Best-Ever Monthly Sales; Fastest-Growing Brand in U.S.
Saturn Calendar Year Sales Improvement Led by New Vue


Full report here:
http://www.gm.com/company/investor_i...on/sales_prod/

Sales breakdown:
http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_...eries_0106.xls

What I found interesting:
5800 Lucernes were sold, which seems solid for its second month considering the profit GM should be making here.
7500 CTSs were sold. Impressive, but its still redesign time.
12,000 G6's (124k on the year) were sold... this car may be better but people still liked the old Grand Am just as much
2700 Solstices. 30,000 Solstices and Sky's combined will a very low estimate
14,000 Malibus. American bland wont move cars like Japanese Bland. That redesign needs to happen now
8,000 HHRs... it seems like it is selling better than this; I saw three at lunch alone
today, but statistically (sp?) it's hardly outselling the fbody in its last year?

And speaking of the fbody, this is, sadly, the last sales report the Camaro will show up on until it returns. Kinda weird how that lined up with the new Camaro introduction.

Last edited by Chuck!; Jan 4, 2006 at 02:15 PM.
Old Jan 4, 2006 | 02:10 PM
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Re: GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

A bit of good news finally.
Old Jan 4, 2006 | 02:19 PM
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Re: GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

GM Posts Best Full-Size Pickup Sales in Industry Since 1978
I know GM had heavy incentives on them, but so did Ford and DCX, the other major players in this segment....


It totally amazes me when you consider everyone else in the market segment has newer models out.... in particular how heralded the new F-150 has been..... especially it's interior, which is what the GMT-800's have been most roughed up about.
Old Jan 4, 2006 | 03:35 PM
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Re: GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

The cool news in all this is that Chevy finally wrested the sales crown from Ford, for the first time since 1986

Chevy should be able to hold on for this year too unless the Fusion really catches fire. Now if only Chevy had some kind of coupe to give them an extra 75,000 sales per year then it'd be no problem
Old Jan 4, 2006 | 03:50 PM
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Re: GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

.....and people dont think the new 900's will sell as well ? How on earth is the slant eyed Chevy still selling equal to or better than the competition Dodge and Fords have HUGEMONGOUS discounts too , so that doesnt explain it .
Old Jan 4, 2006 | 05:06 PM
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Re: GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

Big 3''s sales tumble in Dec- http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/04/news...ales/index.htm


Big 3 auto sales tumbled in December

December drop in sales ends weak year at GM, Ford, but strong year at No. 3 Chrysler.

By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
January 4, 2006: 3:33 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Sales slumped at Detroit's Big Three in December, capping very different years for the automakers, as Asian automakers made further inroads with U.S. car buyers.

Troubled General Motors (Research) and Ford Motor Co. (Research), both plagued by declining market share this year, saw their sales slumps continue in December. Meanwhile No. 3 Chrysler Group capped a very strong year with a smaller drop in December sales. Import brands generally reported sales gains for December as well as the full year.

GM, the world's No. 1 automaker, said U.S. December sales of cars and light trucks tumbled 10 percent from a year earlier to 384,620. That left the automaker's full-year sales down 4.3 percent to 4.5 million vehicles.

Car sales fell 7 percent to 1.7 million for the year while sales of light trucks, including sports/utility vehicles, pickups and minivans that have been at the core of GM's profits in past years, dipped 2 percent to 2.7 million.

The one piece of good news in the results for GM was that Chevrolet edged past rival Ford Motor Co.'s Ford unit to become the nation's best-selling brand for the first time since 1986.

Chevy, which was nearly tied with Ford in 2004, had sales of 2.7 million vehicles compared with Ford's 2.6 million. But Chevy took that lead as its sales fell a bit less than Ford's -- a 3 percent drop compared to a 4 percent drop at No. 2 Ford.

Meanwhile Ford Motor ended what was also a very weak 2005 with December sales tumbling 9 percent. That gave it a 5 percent decline in full-year sales from 2004 to 3.2 million vehicles, even as car sales rose 2 percent.

Ford's sales of light truck models, which it had depended upon for profits, fell 8 percent for the year and 10 percent in December. The car models ended a good year with a nearly 6 percent drop in December.

Ford's luxury brands -- Lincoln, Jaguar, Volvo and Land Rover, all posted double-digit declines in sales for the year, as did most of its SUV models. Things weren't as bad for pickups, but its F Series pickup truck, the nation's best-selling vehicle once again, saw sales fall 4 percent to 901,463.

Better year for Chrysler, imports

By comparison, DaimlerChrysler (Research) saw its key North American unit Chrysler Group post a 5 percent gain in U.S. sales for the year, even as it posted a 5 percent drop in December sales.

Its luxury division, Mercedes Benz USA, saw a 17 percent gain in December sales, but only a 1 percent gain in full-year sales. Combined U.S. sales for the nation's No. 3 automaker rose 4 percent, to 2.5 million vehicles, on the strength of Chrysler sales.

Even with a gain in year-over-year sales, DaimlerChrysler almost lost its No. 3 ranking in U.S. sales to faster-growing Toyota Motor, which posted a 10.1 percent gain for the year to sell 2.3 million cars and light trucks.

Toyota's gains were driven by a 17.5 percent increase in sales for its car models during the year. Light trucks posted a far more modest 2 percent increase.

Its Camry was once again the nation's best-selling car model during the year with 431,703 sold. Its Prius hybrid gas-electric powered car, which got a lot of attention in a year of record gasoline prices, saw full-year sales double to 107,897.

About 62 percent of Toyota's U.S. sales were built at North American plants, slightly down from the 63 percent share a year earlier.

Japanese competitor Honda Motor also made smaller gains, posting a 5 percent gain to 1.5 million vehicles sold for the year. Its December sales followed the Big Three lower, falling 3 percent.

Unlike Toyota, Honda's car sales slipped slightly, while its light trucks carried the automaker, posting a 14 percent gain for the year.

Other import automakers to make reports early Wednesday -- BMW, Audi and Porsche and Subaru -- all posted full-year gains in sales as well as gains in December sales.

General Motors stock was up about 2% in afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading, while Ford stock was up almost 3% and DaimlerChrysler stock slipped a fraction.

Last edited by johnsocal; Jan 4, 2006 at 05:09 PM.
Old Jan 4, 2006 | 11:50 PM
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Re: GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

I think the plant turning out the HHRs is maxed out. They seem to be selling them as fast as they can make 'em. I really don't think GM anticipated the demand, especially after all of the negative "wannabe pt cruiser" remarks it got. I know I see them all around, and can't recall ever seeing a line of them sitting at a local dealership. (dealer mark-up on them must be real high right now)
Old Jan 5, 2006 | 01:30 AM
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Re: GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

I know it sounds like sour grapes but I cannot believe how a manufacturer of the most mundane, the most conservative, most boring of automobiles can go from strength to strength each year... I am referring to Toyota.

Buyers should be punishing the company for its stodgy image to motoring than rewarding them for the cardigan brand approach it's adopted. Toyota just don't have heart in any of their product offerings... I believe I'm being kind with my comments. There has to be a brick wall somewhere... and a huge fall from grace (says SSbaby in hope).
Old Jan 5, 2006 | 05:28 AM
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Re: GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

Originally Posted by SSbaby
I know it sounds like sour grapes but I cannot believe how a manufacturer of the most mundane, the most conservative, most boring of automobiles can go from strength to strength each year... I am referring to Toyota.

Buyers should be punishing the company for its stodgy image to motoring than rewarding them for the cardigan brand approach it's adopted. Toyota just don't have heart in any of their product offerings... I believe I'm being kind with my comments. There has to be a brick wall somewhere... and a huge fall from grace (says SSbaby in hope).
The North American market is a bit different than the Australian or European market. It seems that those markets put more value on fun, and character, and performance. A car for them is something to be saved up for and looked forward to and enjoyed, not something bought just because it's time to buy one.

Over here on the other hand many people treat cars as commodities: give me the cheapest one that will get the job done with the most features and the least hassles.

IMO Toyota appeals to the 'fraidy cat' buyer. People buy Toyotas because they are afraid that if they don't, they'll have to actually take their car to a garage once in a while! "Who cares if it's boring as crap, I don't want to ever have to fix it!". To be fair, that's probably a response to the poor quality of the domestics over the last couple of decades and if the Big 2 can ever convince buyers that their quality issues are behind them, you'd see more people giving them a chance.
Old Jan 5, 2006 | 05:52 AM
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Re: GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

Originally Posted by R377
Over here on the other hand many people treat cars as commodities: give me the cheapest one that will get the job done with the most features and the least hassles.
I thought only the BIG 3 sold cars with huge incentives... Toyota must be piling on incentives, surely? I base my assumption on Toyota's sales strategy downunder. Over here, Toyota offer huge incentives to clear stock. Camry is very cheap... much cheaper than Commodore even though it only sells at a third the volume of the Holden. The only area where Toyota dominate is in small (Yaris, Corolla) and 4WD (Tundra, Sequioa) vehicles where it holds around 50% overall marketshare... not even a whimper from Holden in that area... and I wonder why we don't get some serious SUVs from GM (like Tahoe) to take the battle to Toyota?
Old Jan 5, 2006 | 01:48 PM
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Re: GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

Originally Posted by Chuck!
Chevrolet Reclaims Industry Sales Leadership for First Time Since 1986
Ok, where's that picture of the big dog with the Chevy bowtie chain and the little dog with the Ford oval chain?
Old Jan 6, 2006 | 12:55 AM
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Re: GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

I don't think this is particularly good news or a cause to celebrate. What this basically says is "Chevrolet is losing market share at a lesser rate than Ford". Do you see how stupid this is? All the "positive news" is nothing but spin. If the numbers didn't JUST coincide so to allow these statements that make it seem Chevy is doing well again, all it would say would be "Chevrolet dropped its market share by another 2% this sales period." <sarcasm>Tell me that's good news...</sarcasm>
Old Jan 6, 2006 | 09:54 AM
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Re: GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

Originally Posted by R377
The North American market is a bit different than the Australian or European market. It seems that those markets put more value on fun, and character, and performance. A car for them is something to be saved up for and looked forward to and enjoyed, not something bought just because it's time to buy one.

Over here on the other hand many people treat cars as commodities: give me the cheapest one that will get the job done with the most features and the least hassles.

IMO Toyota appeals to the 'fraidy cat' buyer. People buy Toyotas because they are afraid that if they don't, they'll have to actually take their car to a garage once in a while! "Who cares if it's boring as crap, I don't want to ever have to fix it!". To be fair, that's probably a response to the poor quality of the domestics over the last couple of decades and if the Big 2 can ever convince buyers that their quality issues are behind them, you'd see more people giving them a chance.
Honestly, you hit it on the head.

most US buyers do put styling in the back seat (as long as the car is not un attractive), especially to perceived quality.
Toyota (even though numbers wise not true today) has a name that spells quality to most buyers. Chevrolet means discounted prices, rebates, then shoddy quality (remnant of the 80's, yes still).

What would work against this, is a new design direction. Instead of trying to copy Toyota and make bland looking cars, keep your quality up, and make new attractive designs. Then when you show an ad for that new sporty 4 door from Chevy put a new logo on it, and also put "better quality than Toyota camry" underneath it.

GM has tried to make Toyota looking cars to compete with Toyota. Instead of seeing the thing that is getting people to buy them is 1. they are not ugly, and 2. they used to have the best quality (which people think of when they see a toyota). Now GMs quality has surpased Toyota, and the cars still look the same. The buyer thinks "if it looks the same, it must be the same".
Old Jan 6, 2006 | 01:34 PM
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Re: GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

Here's Toyota/Lexus' December/Year end figures for North America only (not internationally)

Old Jan 6, 2006 | 01:37 PM
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Re: GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December

Of interest to me is that Lexus' IS december sales have managed to cross the half-way mark toward sales of the new 3-series comparing last month's sales, which was both model's best selling month to date by a small margin.

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