April vehicle sales seen down, GM SUVs strong, Detroit Fleet Sales 1 in 3

[mbukukanyau]

with high gas prices and GM SUV's being the most economical on the freeway.. Why do I get the feeling that SUV buyers will go for the Tahoe and Avoid other automakers products?
Eh?

[johnny smallblock]

Great news...

"Ford has joined Chrysler in aggressively utilizing incentives to lift sales," Peter Nesvold, an analyst with Bear Stearns said. "GM now spends the least of the Big Three per unit on incentives, relying instead on strong product cadence."

Not so great...

"Ford and Chrysler fleet sales exceeded one in three vehicles sold and GM wasn't far behind," he said.

Also, the idea that people who spend X amount on a car have no problem with soaring gas mileage is just silly or wildly optimistic. Gas prices have doubled since W took office. This will affect what people buy.

It seems I do my best to buy the least fuel efficient cars I can, but next time around gas mileage will weigh heavily in my decision-making. And I don't think I'm alone.

[paul3230]

Wow..GM had a stroke of brillance when they pulled the GMT-900 schedule ahead.

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by Perian

I paid $ 3.59 a gallon to fill my Yukon 2500 on Saturday.

The bill was more than $ 120!!

It's amazing the GMT900's are selling so well.

Can this continue?

I filled up my 9-5 on Friday... the bill came to $60. I had to do a double take.
At this point, I'm gonna test out what the Trionic 7 system can do in this engine and start putting regular.

[expyfan]

$3.59 a gallon, holy crap, is that premium gas. Here is at about $2.90 a gallon and I spend about $60 weekly on my 04 Expedition. Dawn, $120 a week is crazy.

[Hemidakota]

Expect a oil bust coming shortly....the inflationary price should be around 2.00-2.10 a gallon.

[steven_a]

Originally Posted by minnfang

What kind of Ford is pictured in the right margin of the Yahoo link?

That is the european Ford Galaxy/S-Max.

[Hemidakota]

Originally Posted by importedtuna

April vehicle sales seen down, GM SUVs strong, Detroit Fleet Sales 1 in 3
Monday May 1, 12:05 pm ET
By Poornima Gupta

DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S auto sales are expected to slip in April, with declines at General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. overshadowing continued gains by Japan's largest automakers, according to industry analysts.

The sales data, set to be released on Tuesday, will be watched as the first indication of whether gasoline prices of over $3 per gallon in some areas have cut more deeply into sales of larger, less-fuel-efficient sports utility vehicles.

Analysts will also be watching with concern to see if the Detroit-based automakers managed to cut back on deliveries of cars and trucks to car rental agencies and commercial fleets, a low-margin category of sales that spiked in the first quarter.

"Not only is the total sales rate softening a bit, but more importantly, the mix of sales is continuing its gradual shift away from truck-based SUVs and toward cars and car-based SUVs," said Burnham Securities analyst David Healy.

That remains a concern for U.S. automakers as SUVs represent their most profitable segment of the market.

Mike Jackson, who heads the largest car dealership chain AutoNation Inc., said last week that so far there appeared to be little or no impact from rising gas prices on sales overall.

Meanwhile, retail demand for GM's new line of full-size SUVs, including the Chevrolet Tahoe, shows no sign of ebbing.

The new SUVs were partly responsible for the GM's first- quarter revenue rise and are the cornerstone of GM's product strategy this year. Sales of the Tahoe were up 37 percent in the first quarter, while the overall market for large SUVs fell 2 percent.

"Sales of GM's full size SUVs, especially the Tahoe, are strong and should help sustain sales at year-ago levels," Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy said. "Overall sales will decline, however, as GM continues to reduce its dependency on fleet (sales)."

Analysts expect GM sales to drop between 6 percent and 10 percent. Ford sales are expected to decline in the range of 4 percent to 8 percent, while DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler group (XETRACXGN.DE - News) is expected to see sales in a range between flat and down 4 percent.

Japanese automakers, Toyota Motor Corp.(Tokyo:7203.T - News), Honda Motor Co. (Tokyo:7267.T - News) and Nissan Motor Co.(Tokyo:7201.T - News), are likely to see a slight increase in sales, which would mean a further market-share decline for the Detroit-based automakers.

SALES INCENTIVES KEY

The sales declines at Ford and Chrysler are expected despite aggressive discounts, including higher rebates and interest-free loans on certain older models.

"Ford has joined Chrysler in aggressively utilizing incentives to lift sales," Peter Nesvold, an analyst with Bear Stearns said. "GM now spends the least of the Big Three per unit on incentives, relying instead on strong product cadence."

Overall, analysts expect April vehicle sales to be in the range of 16.5 million to 17 million annually on a seasonally adjusted basis. That compares with a 17.2 annual rate a year ago and a 16.5 million selling rate last month.

Fleet sales cushioned the blow of weak retail sales for the traditional Big Three during the first quarter and allowed all three to maintain production and clear inventory.

U.S. automakers have been promising to move away from such transactions in favor of higher-margin sales through showrooms, a trend that will have to kick in this quarter and next if full-year sales are on track to avoid a steeper than anticipated decline.

During the first quarter, U.S. automakers fleet sales, as a percentage of total sales, were the highest in a decade at over 33 percent, Murphy said.

"Ford and Chrysler fleet sales exceeded one in three vehicles sold and GM wasn't far behind," he said.

Sad to note that most media jorunalist do not do any real homework in bias attacking the three. If someone takes the time to read the Friday thru Sunday Auto sales in any given newspaper, you will find even the Asians are doing the same with aggressive sales tactics.

[superstreet]

Originally Posted by Perian

I paid $ 3.59 a gallon to fill my Yukon 2500 on Saturday.

The bill was more than $ 120!!

It's amazing the GMT900's are selling so well.

Can this continue?

here in el paso tx the gas is $2.89 per gallon

[Hemidakota]

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial...30/1049333.asp

I had a laugh over the comparison of the Chevy Impala versus the DCX's 300/Charger comparison.

"Bob [Lutz], how many of those Impalas are fleet sales?"

[CobaltSScrazy]

well as long as GM continues to lower reliance on fleets and the 900's sell well...they will be here through the summer...lol. Cant wait to see the new trucks!

[Nightshark]

It was nice to read this;

"GM now spends the least of the Big Three per unit on incentives, relying instead on strong product cadence."

Now hopefully they do not feel compelled to follow Ford and Chrysler back down that black hole.



$120 to fill up your truck...ouch... I thought it was bad enough that I spent over $50 to fill up my Corvette this morning at $3.09/gal. Unfortunately, I need to fill up my cars at least twice a week since I drive about 130 miles/day to and from work. That said, I still want to buy a new Avalanche. When I do, I will still keep the Corvette and pick up another car to commute to work (just got rid of the 98 Neon I was using for this when it hit 150k on the odometer).

[mbukukanyau]

Whom do you think would take fleet sale market shere if the Big three abandoned it?

[377Z]

Originally Posted by Hemidakota

Expect a oil bust coming shortly....the inflationary price should be around 2.00-2.10 a gallon.

...followed shortly by moneys flying out of my bu tt.

[Hurricane]

Count me in as someone who will buy either a Tahoe, a Yukon Denali, or an Escalade in a year or two or three...no matter what gas prices are...

I just bought an Equinox last year so I need to get some use out of it, but our family is growing (baby Hurricane due in August!) and I am going to want something much larger. I'm leaning towards the Denali - I want the 6.2 liter with the six speed automatic...!