GM’s U.S. Sales up 5 percent in December

2013-01-03

DETROIT – General Motors Co.’s (NYSE: GM) U.S. dealers delivered the company’s highest December sales in five years, with deliveries up 5 percent year over year to 245,733 vehicles.

December was also GM’s best retail sales month of 2012. Retail volume was up 38 percent from November – about double the industry’s estimated increase. Incentive spending was competitive with industry-wide levels, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates, and remains below many Asian and domestic competitors.

“All four GM brands increased their sales year over year in December and we were strong across the board in cars, crossovers and pickup trucks,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president of U.S. sales operations. “We also achieved an important fuel economy milestone. In December, GM became the first U.S. automaker to sell more than 1 million vehicles in a single year that get an EPA-estimated 30 mpg or better on the highway.”

December Highlights

• Total GM passenger car sales increased 14 percent compared with a year ago. Crossover sales were up 2 percent and sales of trucks, which include pickups, vans and SUVs, were equal to a year ago.
• Compared with November, total car sales increased 18 percent, truck sales increased 52 percent and crossover sales increased 22 percent.
• Combined mini, small and compact car sales were up 52 percent year over year driven by continued strong Buick Verano, Chevrolet Spark and Sonic sales; a 27 percent increase for the Chevrolet Cruze; and a 72 percent increase for the Chevrolet Volt.
• Cadillac posted a double-digit year-over-year sales increase for the third consecutive month.
• Cadillac passenger car sales increased 64 percent year over year as the all-new ATS and XTS continue to establish themselves in the luxury market.
• Year-over-year sales of the Chevrolet Silverado increased 6 percent and sales of the GMC Sierra were up 13 percent. GM pickup sales were the highest since September 2008.

“GM’s strong finish in 2012, the industry’s momentum and the overall health of the U.S. economy make us optimistic about 2013,” McNeil said. “The budget compromise reached in Washington this week removes uncertainty and clears the way for full-year light vehicle sales to rise to the 15 million to 15.5 million unit range in 2013.”

	December				(Calendar Year-to-Date)
					January - December
	2012	2011	%Change Volume		2012	2011	%Change Volume
Enclave	6,052	5,555	8.9		56,703	58,392	-2.9
LaCrosse	4,074	5,360	-24.0		57,076	58,474	-2.4
Lucerne	1	712	-99.9		971	20,358	-95.2
Regal	1,526	3,086	-50.6		24,616	40,144	-38.7
Verano	4,820	261	***.*		41,042	265	***.*
Buick Total	16,473	14,974	10.0		180,408	177,633	1.6
ATS	2,979	0	***.*		7,008	0	***.*
CTS	3,372	5,420	-37.8		46,979	55,042	-14.6
DTS	0	166	***.*		465	11,589	-96.0
Escalade	1,371	1,890	-27.5		12,615	15,079	-16.3
Escalade ESV	927	1,119	-17.2		8,083	8,388	-3.6
Escalade EXT	256	262	-2.3		1,934	2,036	-5.0
SRX	6,400	7,324	-12.6		57,485	56,905	1.0
STS	4	78	-94.9		164	3,338	-95.1
XLR	0	0	***.*		0	12	***.*
XTS	2,939	0	***.*		15,049	0	***.*
Cadillac Total	18,248	16,259	12.2		149,782	152,389	-1.7
Avalanche	2,737	2,546	7.5		23,995	20,088	19.4
Aveo	3	24	-87.5		67	28,601	-99.8
Camaro	5,837	6,754	-13.6		84,391	88,249	-4.4
Caprice	245	99	147.5		3,734	880	324.3
Captiva Sport	2,707	1,983	36.5		36,935	7,038	424.8
Cobalt	0	5	***.*		11	856	-98.7
Colorado	1,293	2,970	-56.5		36,840	31,026	18.7
Corvette	1,291	1,038	24.4		14,132	13,164	7.4
Cruze	21,230	16,675	27.3		237,758	231,732	2.6
Equinox	19,551	18,195	7.5		218,621	193,274	13.1
Express	7,387	8,461	-12.7		76,808	71,943	6.8
HHR	0	150	***.*		21	37,012	***.*
Impala	9,641	10,479	-8.0		169,351	171,434	-1.2
Kodiak 4/5 Series	0	0	***.*		0	10	***.*
Malibu	11,630	13,034	-10.8		210,951	204,808	3.0
Silverado-C/K Pickup	50,699	47,787	6.1		418,312	415,130	0.8
Sonic	5,990	5,743	4.3		81,247	15,778	414.9
Spark	2,229	0	***.*		12,385	0	***.*
Suburban (Chevy)	5,956	5,930	0.4		48,116	49,427	-2.7
Tahoe	8,602	8,430	2.0		68,904	80,527	-14.4
TrailBlazer	0	0	***.*		0	33	***.*
Traverse	7,430	9,326	-20.3		85,606	107,131	-20.1
Volt	2,633	1,529	72.2		23,461	7,671	205.8
Chevrolet Total	167,091	161,158	3.7		1,851,646	1,775,812	4.3
Acadia	5,179	7,355	-29.6		78,280	79,288	-1.3
Canyon	315	716	-56.0		8,735	9,590	-8.9
Envoy	0	0	***.*		0	5	***.*
Savana	1,330	2,530	-47.4		20,650	17,268	19.6
Sierra	18,710	16,495	13.4		157,185	149,170	5.4
Terrain	11,516	7,724	49.1		97,786	83,179	17.6
Topkick 4/5 Series	0	0	***.*		0	5	***.*
Topkick 6/7/8 Series	0	0	***.*		0	8	***.*
Yukon	3,942	3,968	-0.7		27,818	34,250	-18.8
Yukon XL	2,929	3,172	-7.7		23,427	25,223	-7.1
GMC Total	43,921	41,960	4.7		413,881	397,986	4.0
GM Vehicle Total	245,733	234,351	4.9		2,595,717	2,503,820	3.7
* 26 selling days for the December period this year and 27 for last year.

LaCrosse down 25%, Regal down 50%, the Verano is eating away at those two. Especially the Regal, I think the Verano is a better car even at even money, being $5k cheaper than a Regal and it is no contest.

I am a little surprised the XTS is selling around 2900 a month, I wonder what % is fleet sales. I thought that car would be closer to 2,000 a month, but it is year one, and it may cool off, especially when a new CTS arrives.

Also interesting is that the 2013 Malibu sells worse than the model it replaces. That car is a big disappointment and the CamCord duo are back with a vengence.

The Sonic and Cruze both went up in sales, even with the Spark coming in to market. Shows the small cars are going well, actually, those 3 are performing far better than the Malibu/Impala.