GM Reports 323,453 December Deliveries; 3.87 Million Vehicles Sold in 2007

[MOOSTOPHA]

*December Retail Sales up 1.5 Percent; Retail Car Deliveries Up 15 Percent
*Combined Retail Share For The Past Five Months Up Year-Over-Year
*Chevrolet Malibu Retail Sales Up 99 Percent; Cadillac CTS Up 51 Percent In December
*Enclave, OUTLOOK and Acadia Crossovers Exceed 14,000 Retail Sales In December; GM's Mid-Utility Crossover Segment Up 275 Percent
*Dealer Inventories Down 147,000 Vehicles Year-Over-Year


DETROIT – GM dealers in the United States delivered 323,453 vehicles in December, down 5 percent compared with a year ago. With 257,469 retail vehicle deliveries, retail sales for the month were up 1.5 percent.

GM delivered 3.87 million vehicles in 2007, down 6 percent compared with 2006. GM's retail market share is anticipated to be flat for the year, with daily rental share down significantly, as planned.

"We've executed our Go-to-Market strategy throughout the year, and the results show stabilized retail share and net price, reduced daily rentals, improved residual values, smaller inventories and outstanding launch vehicle performance," said Mark LaNeve, GM North America vice president, Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "Growing our share in key car segments is integral to our strategy. The retail performance of the new Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac CTS, Saturn AURA, Pontiac G6 and the fuel-efficient Chevrolet Aveo, Cobalt and Pontiac G5, demonstrates the enthusiasm customers have for these outstanding vehicles."


http://www.gm.com/corporate/investor...prod/index.jsp

[starlightmica]

Full #s:
http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayS...=2&docid=42261

[markusername]

Sorry but this is NOT good news. Another YEAR of losing sales (both in cars and trucks). The stock is within $2 of losing HALF its value from it's 52 week high.

Are all the folks who said what a good job lutz, rick, and others were doing since the stock was so high going to go back on what they said a few months ago?

There are some bright spots like the Malibu, but what about actually making money and gaining market share. Losing money and market share every year is getting ridiculous. When do we hold management accountable?

I don't want to hear excuses about how it was everyone else fault from housing to the weather that sales were again down for 2007. (Just checked toyota again was ahead for 2007 compared to 2006 in the same housing market with the same weather conditions...).

[tgagneguam]

Originally Posted by markusername

Sorry but this is NOT good news. Another YEAR of losing sales (both in cars and trucks). The stock is within $2 of losing HALF its value from it's 52 week high.

Are all the folks who said what a good job lutz, rick, and others were doing since the stock was so high going to go back on what they said a few months ago?

There are some bright spots like the Malibu, but what about actually making money and gaining market share. Losing money and market share every year is getting ridiculous. When do we hold management accountable?

I don't want to hear excuses about how it was everyone else fault from housing to the weather that sales were again down for 2007. (Just checked toyota again was ahead for 2007 compared to 2006 in the same housing market with the same weather conditions...).

I think being a GM fan means appropriately questioning the Corporation, which I think you're doing, markusername. Praise where praise is warranted, criticize where criticism is needed. It shows you care. To do otherwise makes a person as "Kool-Aid-ey" as the Toyota-philes. GM's management has accomplished a lot in the past several years-seems like residual work from previous administrations finally has been addressed-but there's so much more work left. And that's evidenced by spotty performance throughout the line-up and on the bottom line.

Keep questioning, markusername; it's a good thing.

[Buick61]

That seals it, the Aura should be spelled: F-L-O-P.

People said sales were poor because of a lack of a 4-cylinder and no rebates.

Well, with a 4-cylinder model AND thousands of dollars on the hood, sales were actually LOWER this December vs. 2006. The total for the year didn't even crack 60,000! The JEEP COMMANDER outsold it!! So did the Sebring and Avenger, and that's with the Aura being right there with them on the Rental Lots.

Same for the VUE. It's just not as popular with buyers as it is with fans and journalists. Is it the weight? The Korean styling? The price?


On the plus side, things are looking good for the Lambdas. The Acadia became GMC's second best selling vehicle-- it handily outsold the Envoy, which should hasten that vehicle's demise.

And either the Aveo was fleet dumped, or its fortunes are reversing.

Overall, spotty results for a spotty line up. Did anyone expect anything else?

[Sphinx002]

Ok, I'm not a drink any darn Kool-aid type but Marks comments are incorrect and border on ludicrous.

"But what about actually making money and gaining market share. Losing money and market share every year is ridiculous. When do we hold management accountable?"

GM didn't lost market share this year. It stabilized. It also stopped almost all of the bleeding as far as losing money (not counting the accounting correction write off). All in a years time. All this in a declining overall market which I see you failed to mention. Commendable.

Your comment seems about the only thing ridiculous to me. Taking numbers out of context is beyond ignorant, it smells of an agenda.

"I don't want to hear excuses about how it was everyone else fault from housing to the weather that sales were again down for 2007. (Just checked toyota again was ahead for 2007 compared to 2006 in the same housing market with the same weather conditions...)."

Toyota was ahead. Yep, congrats for seeing that. They also have been doing things right for quite some time now, compared to GM only turning things around for a few years. Apples and oranges.

It's funny how some can see the negative in anything. Nothing about retail market share going up. Nothing about resale values going up. Nothing about increased overseas gains. Nothing about better operating profitability. Nothing about overwhelming praise by the media for it's new products. typical negative post.

For the record, I'm not a GM fan-boy. I've owned more non GM products than GM products, to include: Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Subaru, Acura, BMW, Toyota and Lexus. I started visiting this site initially because I started to see life in a company I thought long dead, now two years later I see more than just a pulse, but a company on a mission. Go GM.

[MOOSTOPHA]

and the preacher said "can we raise an offering????"

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by Buick61

That seals it, the Aura should be spelled: F-L-O-P.

People said sales were poor because of a lack of a 4-cylinder and no rebates.

Well, with a 4-cylinder model AND thousands of dollars on the hood, sales were actually LOWER this December vs. 2006. The total for the year didn't even crack 60,000! The JEEP COMMANDER outsold it!! So did the Sebring and Avenger, and that's with the Aura being right there with them on the Rental Lots.

No.
The evidence points to additional internal competition for Aura's falling numbers. Malibu overlaps Aura. That should be of no doubt. There is more advertising for Malibu. There are more Chevy dealerships. GM's inability to differentiate Aura and Malibu cost Aura sales.

Originally Posted by Buick61

Same for the VUE. It's just not as popular with buyers as it is with fans and journalists. Is it the weight? The Korean styling? The price?

VUE came in as RAV4 and CR-V were updated. So competition is tough. There also hasn't been nearly the media blitz for VUE that CR-V [CRAVE] has had the past couple of months.
I think VUE's appropriately size and priced. Though Redline needs more power, but that won't affect anything too significantly.

Originally Posted by Buick61

Did anyone expect anything else?

Nope.

[osv_alero]

The whole lack on interest in Saturn with an all new product line seems a little odd. They should jumping up in sales faster than GM can keep up with. Is it advertising? Is it the customer base? Is it new products that are good but not great?

I'm going with the customer base. The original base was a little odd. They don't have cars for the odd anymore. They have great cars for the mainstream. Will the mainstream go to Saturn is the big question.

[Greg Burr]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

No.
The evidence points to additional internal competition for Aura's falling numbers. Malibu overlaps Aura. That should be of no doubt. There is more advertising for Malibu. There are more Chevy dealerships. GM's inability to differentiate Aura and Malibu cost Aura sales.


VUE came in as RAV4 and CR-V were updated. So competition is tough. There also hasn't been nearly the media blitz for VUE that CR-V [CRAVE] has had the past couple of months.
I think VUE's appropriately size and priced. Though Redline needs more power, but that won't affect anything too significantly.

My gf wants to buy the Vue but the nearest Saturn dealership is 20 miles away, so she wonders how much trouble is it to getdealer servicing. There are very few Saturn dealerships in LA.

That's not a problem with Chevy and yes tthe advertising support is better than the Aura.

[Saturn69]

Originally Posted by Greg Burr

My gf wants to buy the Vue but the nearest Saturn dealership is 20 miles away, so she wonders how much trouble is it to getdealer servicing. There are very few Saturn dealerships in LA.

That's not a problem with Chevy and yes the advertising support is better than the Aura.

The Saturn retailer is 40 miles from my house. I have no trouble getting service. Ever. You call and make an appointment, done. If she wanted a Toyota but the nearest dealer was 50 miles away, would you hesitate?

[91Saturn]

Yep, Saturn continues to disappoint. Part of it is lack of advertising by GM, but the weak dealer network is the bigger problem, IMO. During the lean years of 2000-2005, a number of Saturn stores in major metropolitan areas shut down. In my area (San Francisco), we lost three dealers (Burlingame, Sunnyvale and Marin). The Burlingame and Sunnyvale stores were among the first 50 Saturn dealerships in the country in 1990, and were once national leaders in Saturn volume. Those stores shut down and haven't been replaced.

[zete]

Stabilizing market share is one thing, returning to profitability is another. I do note that the cars with the biggest increases are the newer ones, which are also selling without any incentives. And the massive number of sales for the Lambdas is amazing. And the new Malibu seems to be on a good tear. Even the SRX had a good month!

With waiting lists for the Enclave, Malibu, and CTS things are looking up partially. A few years ago waiting lists at GM were rare. It seems to be pretty regular now. Each new car has desirability, something that was rare outside of specific trucks and sports cars at GM. Who would have said a year ago that the Malibu would be garnering the praise it's getting PLUS have a queue of folks waiting to buy it with dealers screaming for inventory. The typical GM sedan of a few years ago wouldn't have had them lining up for it. Times are changing.

I do notice that the Enclave sold nearly as many copies as did the Rendezvous and Rainier combined. Pretty impressive.

I now await numbers in terms of money. We know they "lost" money this year, but how is their cash-on-hand situation. That's the question.

[ericmvest]

Originally Posted by Sphinx002

Ok, I'm not a drink any darn Kool-aid type but Marks comments are incorrect and border on ludicrous.

"But what about actually making money and gaining market share. Losing money and market share every year is ridiculous. When do we hold management accountable?"

GM didn't lost market share this year. It stabilized. It also stopped almost all of the bleeding as far as losing money (not counting the accounting correction write off). All in a years time. All this in a declining overall market which I see you failed to mention. Commendable.

Your comment seems about the only thing ridiculous to me. Taking numbers out of context is beyond ignorant, it smells of an agenda.

"I don't want to hear excuses about how it was everyone else fault from housing to the weather that sales were again down for 2007. (Just checked toyota again was ahead for 2007 compared to 2006 in the same housing market with the same weather conditions...)."

Toyota was ahead. Yep, congrats for seeing that. They also have been doing things right for quite some time now, compared to GM only turning things around for a few years. Apples and oranges.

It's funny how some can see the negative in anything. Nothing about retail market share going up. Nothing about resale values going up. Nothing about increased overseas gains. Nothing about better operating profitability. Nothing about overwhelming praise by the media for it's new products. typical negative post.

For the record, I'm not a GM fan-boy. I've owned more non GM products than GM products, to include: Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Subaru, Acura, BMW, Toyota and Lexus. I started visiting this site initially because I started to see life in a company I thought long dead, now two years later I see more than just a pulse, but a company on a mission. Go GM.

In my opinion, this is a very well thought out post!

As far as General Motors' stock price being low, it seems like a good buying opportunity to me.

[coaster.n3rd]

Originally Posted by 91saturn

Yep, Saturn continues to disappoint. Part of it is lack of advertising by GM, but the weak dealer network is the bigger problem, IMO. During the lean years of 2000-2005, a number of Saturn stores in major metropolitan areas shut down. In my area (San Francisco), we lost three dealers (Burlingame, Sunnyvale and Marin). The Burlingame and Sunnyvale stores were among the first 50 Saturn dealerships in the country in 1990, and were once national leaders in Saturn volume. Those stores shut down and haven't been replaced.

Whaaa?

Someone want to point out to me why there is all this doom & gloom for Saturn?

December Performance Highlights:

• Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, GMC and Saturn divisions saw retail increases year-over-year
• GM's retail car deliveries increased 15 percent based on the strength of the all-new Chevrolet Malibu, 2008 Cadillac CTS and fuel-efficient Chevrolet Aveo, Cobalt, Pontiac G5 and G6. Aveo sales were up 82 percent
• Chevrolet Impala and Malibu combined were 24,000 retail sales, the best Chevrolet mid-car month since July 2006
• Enclave, OUTLOOK and Acadia crossovers exceeded 14,000 retail sales; GM's mid-utility crossover segment was up 275 percent. Enclave had a record month.
• Chevrolet Silverado, Avalanche and GMC Sierra full-size pickups built retail market share with more than 69,000 vehicles sold
• Retail vehicles, as a percent of total deliveries, increased more than 5 percentage points to 80 percent
• Dealer inventories were down 147,000 vehicles year-over-year

2007 Performance Highlights:

• Dealer inventories were at their lowest level going into January in 13 years
• GMC and Saturn divisions had total and retail increases for the year
• Enclave, OUTLOOK and Acadia crossovers exceeded 122,000 retail sales; GM's mid-utility crossover segment was up 333 percent retail
• Daily rental sales were reduced 108,000 vehicles; GM was at its lowest level of daily rental sales in 9 years (about 596,000 vehicles), while significantly boosting content and resale value. Commercial/government fleet sales were up about 5,000 vehicles
• Anticipated retail share stabilized at about 21 percent
• Retail vehicles, as a percentage of total deliveries, increased 1 percentage point to 74 percent