GM Reports January Sales of 299,050, Down 2%

895 Views 9 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Ming, Feb 8, 2004

coolcaddy

Discussion Starter · Feb 3, 2004

GM Reports January Sales of 299,050, Down 2 Percent
Record Sport Utility Sales Up 27 Percent

GMC Continues Strong Sales Performance With Another Monthly Record
DETROIT – General Motors dealers sold 299,050 new cars and trucks in January, down 2 percent compared to January 2003. GM's truck sales(174,597) were up 13 percent. Car sales (124,453) were down 17 percent.

“January sales results were below expectations. While we had good results in some divisions with sales increases at Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac, a new industry record in sport utility sales and strong truck sales overall, car sales and sales in certain regions were disappointing,” said John Smith, group vice president of GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. “However, we're beginning our launch of 29 new vehicles this year, including the Chevrolet Equinox, Cadillac STS, Saturn ION Coupe Redline and Pontiac G6, and we expect these vehicles to further build on the momentum we achieved during the second half of 2003.”

GM Truck Sales

GM's industry-leading truck lineup posted healthy sales in January. Total truck sales were up 13 percent, and sales of sport utility vehicles (89,965) were up 27 percent, setting a new January record. Full-size pickup sales (59,104) increased 15 percent. Chevrolet full-size pickup sales (47,041) improved 14 percent, and GMC Sierra sales (12,063) were 17 percent above year-ago levels. Deliveries of large utilities (32,524) improved 50 percent, paced by Chevrolet Tahoe (13,395), up 50 percent and GMC Yukon (6,532), up 77 percent.

GM Car Sales

GM's overall car sales declined 17 percent in January, although key luxury models continued to perform well. Cadillac CTS had 3,278 deliveries, up 12 percent and a monthly record. Chevrolet Corvette sales (2,986) were up 96 percent. Additionally, key new products such as the Cadillac XLR, Chevrolet Malibu, SSR and Aveo and Pontiac GTO are continuing to ramp up.

Divisional Highlights

Chevrolet – Chevrolet had a solid sales performance in January with 167,199 deliveries, 8 percent above last year. Truck deliveries (112,387) were up 10 percent, led by Silverado (40,966), with a 9 percent improvement and Tahoe (13,395), which was up 50 percent. Other Chevrolet trucks with sales increases included Avalanche (6,075), up 65.5 percent, TrailBlazer (20,274) with a 24.5 percent improvement and Suburban (8,373), up 32 percent. Impala had record sales of 19,161 units, a 10 percent increase over last year. SSR sales (948) continued to build with its third consecutive month of sales improvements.

Cadillac – Cadillac sales in January (14,761) were up 1 percent compared to last year. Truck sales established a new January record (5,234), up 77 percent. Continuing strong sales of the Escalade portfolio (3,727) resulted in a 26 percent improvement over last year. Escalade ESV set a monthly record with 787 deliveries, up 99 percent. EXT also had record monthly sales with 722 deliveries, a 5 percent increase. CTS sales improved 12 percent with 3,278 deliveries, setting a January record. The XLR, Cadillac's latest entry into the luxury car market, continues to garner very favorable reactions from consumers, dealers and the press.

GMC – GMC continued its strong sales performance establishing a new January record with 38,902 deliveries, a 33 percent increase. Sierra sales (12,063) were up 17 percent. Other GMC trucks that had sales improvements included Envoy (10,004) with a 38 percent increase; Yukon (6,532), up 77 percent and a new January record; and Yukon XL (4,224), which improved 59 percent.

HUMMER – HUMMER's January sales were 1,927 units. H2 sales (1,897) were affected by low stock due to an exceptionally high level of H2 sales in December 2003.

Pontiac – Grand Prix deliveries totaled 10,873, up 6 percent over last year. GTO sold 476 vehicles in January.

Saturn – VUE sales were 5,589, representing a 31 improvement over year-ago levels and a new monthly record. ION sales (7,460) were up 33 percent.

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babershah

· #2 · Feb 3, 2004

With these cars coming GM will be back by Q3 of 2004!!

NEW OR REVAMPED

Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Uplander
Chevrolet Cobalt
Chevrolet Equinox (already seen one on the road, looks nice)
Buick Lacrosse

My favorite new GM product
Buick Terraza
Saturn Relay
Cadillac STS
Pontiac Montana SV6
Pontiac G6
GMC Envoy Denali
Pontiac Solstice- 2006 model year!
Saab 9-7X
Saab 9-2X
Hummer H3- COMING SOON, I HOPE! probably 2006 model
Hummer H2SUT

Not to mention these already released new cars (the last year)
Cadillac XLR
Chevy Aveo
Chevy SSR
Chevy Malibu
Chevy Colorado
GMC Canyon
Cadillac SRX

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tgagneguam

· #3 · Feb 4, 2004

I'm really yearning to see GM cars make a solid comeback. They seem to have trucks down well: despite the newer comepetition, GM sold nearly 60,000 full-size trucks, Escalade (intro'd near the turn of this century) saw sales RISE again this January after a strong December '03, Trailblazer sales are up, GMC saw sales rise in the strong double digit range, and on and on.

What the hell is up with cars?! Buick and Saturn tanked this month! Malibu sales for January 2004 were below comparable sales January 2003, the XLR sold a pitiful couple hundred units, the GTO turned in less than 500 units (they need to sell three times that much to reach the monthly sales objectives) and on and on. Geeze what gives, GM?!

All this while freakin' boring Toyota saw sales rise (again) by 16% (Lexus was up 19%!). I know it's just one month, but so much for maintaining the momentum of Q4 2003...

Well, at least BMW/Mini sales and Honda's car sales were down. Might as well share the misery.

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ackenda

· #4 · Feb 4, 2004

i was gonna say...

would i buy a grand am? nope. i'd wait for the g6

would i buy an impala? nope. i'm waiting to try malibu and malibu maxx (powertrain, shmowertrain--they're still both fwd)

would i buy a montana or venture? never. i'd consider the sv6 or uplander that's coming though (well, maybe out of morbid curiosity)

would i buy a current seville or sts? uh-uh. i'd be waiting for the new one

would i ever buy a cavalier? ha!!! don't make me laugh. but there's a cobalt right around the corner i'm pretty interested in...

would i pay full $$ for a c5 'vette? probably not while the c6 is looking so good.

etc.

my point is--they've really put themselves in a world of hurt because the outgoing product is so far behind what they've got coming in terms of quality and level of excitement (in most cases). i don't understand malibu's poor numbers except that i never see them on dealer lots. i think that could cause problems--same has definitely been true for gto. anyway...

my fear is--considering the massive incentives they've been using to get product out the door already--it's like they're going to have to have a 50%-off sale to liquidate old stock once the new starts really showing up at dealerships. well, it wouldn't be such a bad thing for consumers, but the incentives are hurting the perception of gm's products right now--i can only see that getting worse until all the old is gone.

...which means like, 2006 should be a pretty good year. sheesh.

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mrfunji

· #5 · Feb 4, 2004

Originally posted by tgagneguam@Feb 4 2004, 12:01 AM
Malibu sales for January 2004 were below comparable sales January 2003, the XLR sold a pitiful couple hundred units, the GTO turned in less than 500 units

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tgagneguam

· #6 · Feb 4, 2004

Originally posted by ackenda@Feb 4 2004, 12:07 AM
i was gonna say...

would i buy a grand am? nope. i'd wait for the g6

would i buy an impala? nope. i'm waiting to try malibu and malibu maxx (powertrain, shmowertrain--they're still both fwd)

would i buy a montana or venture? never. i'd consider the sv6 or uplander that's coming though (well, maybe out of morbid curiosity)

would i buy a current seville or sts? uh-uh. i'd be waiting for the new one

would i ever buy a cavalier? ha!!! don't make me laugh. but there's a cobalt right around the corner i'm pretty interested in...

would i pay full $$ for a c5 'vette? probably not while the c6 is looking so good.

etc.

my point is--they've really put themselves in a world of hurt because the outgoing product is so far behind what they've got coming in terms of quality and level of excitement (in most cases). i don't understand malibu's poor numbers except that i never see them on dealer lots. i think that could cause problems--same has definitely been true for gto. anyway...

my fear is--considering the massive incentives they've been using to get product out the door already--it's like they're going to have to have a 50%-off sale to liquidate old stock once the new starts really showing up at dealerships. well, it wouldn't be such a bad thing for consumers, but the incentives are hurting the perception of gm's products right now--i can only see that getting worse until all the old is gone.

...which means like, 2006 should be a pretty good year. sheesh.

I absolutely agree with your comparison of vehicles, but many of Toyota's products are equally long in the tooth, and I've made my disdain for Nissan products quite clear, yet they seem to maintain their sales momentum year in, year out, year after year after year (granted, maybe Toyota more than Nissan). With the Japanese makes, there is no waiting til next year, or the year after, or the year after that! With the Big Three, it's always "wait to you see what we got coming!" Fine, but what about now?

Did you notice how Ford used the same wording to defend its 10% sales decline this January from already bleak January 2003 sales? "Wait til you see what the second half of the year brings (in reference to the Freestyle, the Five Hundred, Monterey, et cetera, you all know the drill)." What?! Your sales are off 10 freakin' percent in an overall up market, dudes. Wake up!

How very frustrating! And it's very frustrating to see their transparent coverups to explain their shortfalls. Their press releases are usually derived from a list of excuses:

1) We had tough year-ago comparisons to beat.

2) We are backing off incentives.

3) We are backing off fleet sales.

4) We expect sales to pickup with new models.

5) We are coming off strong prior month sales that drew then future sales from this month.

6) We don't have the production capacity for newer vehicles.

7) We built too many of the loaded vehicles and forgot to build less expensive ones.

Notice how every month every press release from the Big Three is a permutation of the above excuses.

Please, no more excuses!

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licaddyman

· #7 · Feb 4, 2004

Where is everyone getting their info? According to Autonews.com, GM sales are up from a year ago.

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tgagneguam

· #8 · Feb 4, 2004

Originally posted by mrfunji+Feb 4 2004, 12:21 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (mrfunji @ Feb 4 2004, 12:21 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-tgagneguam@Feb 4 2004, 12:01 AM
Malibu sales for January 2004 were below comparable sales January 2003, the XLR sold a pitiful couple hundred units, the GTO turned in less than 500 units

What are you talking about. The XLR is sold out for the 2004 model year. The Malibu sales really aren't comparable to a year ago because in 2003 Malibu was a fleet car. It's the dealer's fault for the GTO, I went to 3 Pontiac dealerships and NONE of them were taking orders for a GTO. One salesman thought GTO was a Grand Am GT. It's just like the show room I went in and saw a CTS with whitewalls and a canvas roof. WTF is that...don't dealerships know the CTS is supposed to appear to a younger crowd?????? [/b][/quote]
GM car sales are down, whatever the reason. GM can do all the intellectualizing they want, but car sales are down in an up market. Blame the dealers, blame the consumers, blame Saddam Hussein, blame the yen, blame the weather, blame the economy, blame interest rates, blame product perception gaps, blame terrorism, blame anyone or anything you want, but car sales are down - yet again. And it's getting old.

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tgagneguam

· #9 · Feb 4, 2004

Originally posted by licaddyman@Feb 4 2004, 12:40 AM
Where is everyone getting their info? According to Autonews.com, GM sales are up from a year ago.

GM's web site indicates the following:

January 2003: 293,086 total vehicles sold
25 selling days
11,723 vehicles sold per business day

January 2004: 299,086 total vehicles sold
26 selling days
11,503 vehicles sold per business day

In January 2003, GM sold 220 more vehicles per selling day than in January 2004, which translates into a [220/11,723=0.0188] 1.9% drop in sales.

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Ming

· #10 · Feb 8, 2004

Ford, GM Post Lower Sales As Toyota Gains

By SARAH KARUSH, Associated Press Writer

DETROIT - Sales of new cars and trucks fell more than expected in January at the nation's two largest automakers, with market leader General Motors Corp. posting a 1.8 percent decline and rival Ford Motor Co. reporting a 9.8 percent drop.

While the big U.S. automakers were struggling to explain their declines, Toyota Motor Corp. (news - web sites) was reporting a 15.8 percent boost in U.S. sales, and Daimler-Chrysler posted sales that were 9.4 percent higher.

GM said Tuesday that it was disappointed with the results but maintained its outlook for the year. Ford, the nation's second biggest automaker, said it remained optimistic a lineup of new cars would change its fortunes.

Analysts expected January sales results to be tempered by frigid weather in parts of the country, despite brisk business at the beginning of the month.

Both GM and Ford saw the biggest declines in their car sales, with GM's car sales down 16.8 percent and car sales for the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands falling 20.1 percent. Chrysler's car sales also fell, declining 23.2 percent.

GM's truck sales were up 12.8 percent. Ford's truck sales fell 4.7 percent, despite the continuing success of its F-150 pickup. Chrysler sold 21.5 percent more trucks than in the previous January.

"January sales results were below expectations," said John Smith, GM's vice president for North American sales, service and marketing. "While we had good results in some divisions ... a new industry record in sport utility sales and strong truck sales overall, car sales and sales in certain regions were disappointing."

Jim O'Connor, Ford's vice president for North American marketing, sales and service, expressed confidence that the company's car models would yield results by the end of 2004.

"We're committed to pursuing a product and market strategy that will result in stronger retail sales performance," O'Connor said in a statement. "Today we are benefiting from the all- new F-150 and a strong lineup of sport utility vehicles. By year end, we expect to see stronger retail performance in passenger cars."

Ford's F-series trucks posted record January sales of 61,979, up 9.6 percent.

"The most painful declines from the standpoint of our overall performance are the midsize cars ? the Ford Taurus and the Mercury Sable," Ford sales analyst George Pipas said in a conference call with investors. "Painful in the sense that mid-size cars still represent about 20 percent of total new vehicle sales in the United States."

Taurus sales fell 26.6 percent, and Sable sales were down 47.1 percent.

But Pipas said "help is on the way" in the form of two new mid-size sedans, the Ford Five Hundred and the Mercury Montego.

Also going on sale this year, which Ford has dubbed "the year of the car," are a redesigned Focus, a new Mustang, and the crossover Freestyle wagon.

The car introductions mark a shift for Ford, which like other U.S. automakers, has put most of its emphasis on pickups and SUVs in recent years, losing ground in the car market to Japanese companies.

Paul Ballew, GM's executive director for market and industry analysis, said he was not overly concerned about the January dip, calling it the "least representative" month, coming after the usual year-end acceleration in sales.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ge/auto_sales_4

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