So Far, So Bad: GM sales down 40% in July to date

[Vmax2008]

US July Retail Auto Sales Down Sharply, Led By GM -JD Power
July 18, 2007: 04:57 PM EST


General Motors Corp. (GM) continued to see major sales declines through July 15, with sales down 40% compared with the same period last year, according to the report. The firm is projecting GM's July sales will fall 15.2% compared with July 2006 when the numbers are adjusted for a difference in selling days between the two months.


http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/...7_FORTUNE5.htm

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This is so dissapointing. What's going on with GM. The Tundra is passing the Sierra in sales. Silverado sales are weak. Incentives are up. Man get your act together GM!

[likearock00]

Damn this is rough! Hopefully they will rebound some by the end of the month. It's gonna hurt for awhile but I hope GM can stick to their guns on the rebate dept.

[Vmax2008]

Originally Posted by likearock00

Damn this is rough! Hopefully they will rebound some by the end of the month. It's gonna hurt for awhile but I hope GM can stick to their guns on the rebate dept.

ya, I think this caught them by suprise. Will be interesting to see the month end numbers.

[HoosierRon]

At least GM is in good company.

The U.S. auto makers could be joined by Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) and Honda Motor Co. (HMC) in negative territory, which would represent an abrupt slowdown for two of the market's hottest companies. Toyota sales are seen slipping nearly 1%, while Honda's could be off 5.4%.

[joemac]

Ecomony in general? Seems the issue is much more widespread than a few automotive products here or there affecting sales.

[sigma]

The economy is cooling off as the housing bubble continues to burst. There was a story about how consumers were increasing lead times for major purchases in the NYTimes a couple of weeks ago. This is evidence of just that.

[Bolex]

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...52/1148/AUTO01

article on detnews does state that, "General Motors Corp. said today it sold 2.405 cars and trucks worldwide in the second quarter, up slightly from 2.395 million in the same period last year."

but sales down in the states. so in the overall scheme of the things, it aint that bad.

[Old Dood]

Originally Posted by sigma

The economy is cooling off as the housing bubble continues to burst. There was a story about how consumers were increasing lead times for major purchases in the NYTimes a couple of weeks ago. This is evidence of just that.

True. It is not good all over. The Stock Market is not a good indicator anymore.

We ourselves were having a bad month too. July is always a down month for us but this one is real bad...until...we had a new customer open up and gave us a very needed shot in the Arm...or is it the Ass? Either way...we bent over and took our medicine...hehe!

[mkaresh]

No surprise. Their rebates are low right now, even lower than last month. I predicted sales would tank as soon as I saw this:

http://www.truedelta.com/blog/?p=136

Good rebate on the Aura, though. I wonder how well it's selling.

[racy]

Originally Posted by HoosierRon

At least GM is in good company.

This is not a cause to bring out the party hats by any means.

Toyota being down 1% compared to last year(2006) which was up 17% over the year prior(2005).

-- IS NOT THE SAME AS --

GM being down 40% compared to last year(2006), which was also down about 25% compared to the year prior(2005).

For all practical purposes, Toyota is still waaaaaay up and GM is still going waaaaaay down. On the sales charts, GM's arrow continues to point steeply downward, while Toyota's points straight up. Nothing is going to change the minds, hearts and pocketbook voting of American buyers about GM's products until GM shows something dramatic and revolutionary - the Volt cannot get here soon enough. New trucks are not going to save GM. The Camaro is not going to save GM. Saturn is not going to save GM. Cadillac is not going to save GM. Incremental change at GM is clearly not working. GM's mini-surge strategy is a failure. What they need to implement is an all out new plan of attack, beginning with a change of leadership. GM needs to fight this war like their life depends on it - because their life does depend on it. The Volt is the only thing on GM's docket worthy of attention.


*** EDIT *** Apologies in advance for the rant nature. I can't help it when month after month, year after year, I read the same story. It literally makes me sick to see GM continue to wither on the vine and waste away. I guess there's an upside to all of this, in that it certainly makes current UAW negotiations more favorable for GM and the rest of the domestics.

[megeebee]

Originally Posted by sigma

The economy is cooling off as the housing bubble continues to burst. There was a story about how consumers were increasing lead times for major purchases in the NYTimes a couple of weeks ago. This is evidence of just that.

I agaree. This is the first indication that the housing market/ sub-prime problem that so many have said would NOT spead to other areas, are wrong.

[Tequilujan]

I'm sure the drastic sales decline is also due to the decrease in fleet sales. I don't really care if they take a bit of a sales dive because of their lack of incentives, this is better for them in the long term... besides, even if their sales slow down a bit, that is in no way inicative of their profit margins. I'm sure sales will stabilize, not sure at exactly what volume, but they will, and then GM can work on selling more cars by offering better products and less incentives... it'll help rebuild their reputation.

[Ming]

Originally Posted by racy

This is not a cause to bring out the party hats by any means.

[Toyota being down 1% compared to last year(2006) which was up 17% over the year prior(2005).

-- IS NOT THE SAME AS --

GM being down 40% compared to last year(2006), which was also down about 25% compared to the year prior(2005).

For all practical purposes, Toyota is still waaaaaay up and GM is still going waaaaaay down.

Hate to say I told ya guys so, but GM's strong focus on promoting its large crossovers and SUVs will continue to hurt its sales numbers and market share. The 90's are over, but GM just can't let go.

They need to offer (note I didn't say "build" because they already build them, they just don't offer enough of them here) more of the kinds of vehicles that I like . Fuel efficient, versatile, inexpensive cars. And don't tell me that they can't because there's one company reaping the rewards of selling cars (I'll let you figure out which ones) from one of GM's own subsidiaries, right here in the USA.:

Point #1: http://suzukiphile.com/index.php?blo...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
Point #2: http://suzukiphile.com/index.php?blo...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
Point: #3: http://suzukiphile.com/index.php?blo...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
Point #4: http://suzukiphile.com/index.php?blo...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

And then there's Chevrolet of Europe's stellar growth. Of course you can draw your own conclusions...

[New_Mexico_Sunset_on_Rt66]

I don't see the big cause for alarm. Isn't this about the time last year that GM started to rely more on retail sales, and less on fleet. So year-to-year comparisons will be misleading.

Many products that are already out are strong; Lambdas, Aura and trucks. And many soon to be out are also strong.

The wind is blowing in the right direction. Public perception takes time.

Exceptional exterior design gets the consumer interested, and the interiors seal the deal.

30 years of complacency and neglect are not easy to over come.

[espo19047]

No 0% for 72 months this year. That is why. I hope they stick to this and teach the customers that they are not giving away cars anymore.