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GM March 2017 Sales - Up 1.6%


Anthony

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DETROIT — General Motors (NYSE: GM), which grew its retail sales faster than any other full-line automaker in 2016, outpaced the industry once again in March. The company also gained retail share in the first quarter of 2017.

 

“The economy is strong and we see more growth ahead for our brands,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of sales operations. “More people are working, consumer confidence is at a 16-year high, fuel prices are low and Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac have a wave of new crossovers to compete in the industry’s biggest and hottest segments.”

 

  • At Buick, crossovers are expected to account for more than 75 percent of retail deliveries in 2017, up from 66 percent in 2016, driven by the Encore, Envision and Enclave.
  • GMC, which has the highest average transaction prices (ATPs) of any nonluxury brand, will launch the all-new 2018 Terrain in late summer, complementing the redesigned Acadia that went on sale in late summer 2016.
  • Cadillac will benefit from a full year of production of the new XT5 crossover, which is now the second best-selling vehicle in its segment.
  • Chevrolet, which grew retail market share in 2015 and was the industry’s fastestgrowing brand in 2016, is particularly well positioned. Chevrolet had its best March and first quarter retail sales since 2007.
  • “Chevrolet will have the industry’s broadest and freshest lineup of utility vehicles led by the all-new 2018 Equinox and Traverse, plus we have a unique three-truck pickup strategy and a dominant position in large SUVs,” McNeil said. “We also have a firstmover advantage in many segments. It will be years before key competitors are able to launch rivals to the Chevrolet Bolt EV, Colorado and Trax.”

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The CT6 outsold the less expensive CTS. Customers are telling Cadillac what they expect in a Cadillac passenger car.

 

The Chevrolet Cruze is up 88 percent. It seems though I've been seeing a lot more of the new-generation Cruzes on the road over the past 2-3 weeks, but that is a very large increase.

Edited by grbeck
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Ram sold 46k pickups last month so it outsold the Silverado brand. I don't know if Ram had better deals last month or if there is a true buyer preference for the Ram over the Chevy. The Silverado has had some significant refreshes in the last few years while the Ram has had some mechanical upgrades but it still looks the same as it did in 2009.

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Can you elaborate on your comments so I can understand your theory better.

 

Yes sir. In the past three years, GM has introduced several new cars, SUV/crossover, and trucks that expanded its lineup to include almost every segment. I think minivan is the only segment GM missed as of 2017. In some segments GM led the industry getting new or redesigned vehicles to the U.S. market. Examples: midsize pickup truck, subcompact crossover, fullsize SUV, extended range electric car. That's the first mover advantage. About three years ago, GM executives made a decision to cut down on fleet sales a lot and focus on making vehicles that would win awards and appeal to real retail customers based on design and quality. They knew it would result in a decline in total sales short term but improve GM's profitability and reputation. GM's March 2017 sales results and their most recent quarterly financial results show they succeeded.

Edited by rperez817
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Yes sir. In the past three years, GM has introduced several new cars, SUV/crossover, and trucks that expanded its lineup to include almost every segment. I think minivan is the only segment GM missed as of 2017. In some segments GM led the industry getting new or redesigned vehicles to the U.S. market. Examples: midsize pickup truck, subcompact crossover, fullsize SUV, extended range electric car. That's the first mover advantage. About three years ago, GM executives made a decision to cut down on fleet sales a lot and focus on making vehicles that would win awards and appeal to real retail customers based on design and quality. They knew it would result in a decline in total sales short term but improve GM's profitability and reputation. GM's March 2017 sales results and their most recent quarterly financial results show they succeeded.

"win awards"

 

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Right sizing fleet sales is something Ford started WAY before GM so let's give credit where it's due. Like I said GM is still building "classic" vehicles that are fleet only.

 

Let's look at the numbers:

 

YTD sales - GM 689K, Ford 617K. Ford is at 90% of GM's volume.

 

Ford has 2 brands and 26 vehicles (counting the PIs as separate).

GM has 4 brands and 43 vehicles.

 

Which brand do you think is more efficient?

 

GM made $12B last year.

Ford made $10.4B last year with fewer vehicles, brands, factories and employees.

 

GM is doing great at the moment but their subprime lending and overproduction and poor management are putting them much more at risk than Ford.

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Right sizing fleet sales is something Ford started WAY before GM so let's give credit where it's due. Like I said GM is still building "classic" vehicles that are fleet only.

 

Let's look at the numbers:

 

YTD sales - GM 689K, Ford 617K. Ford is at 90% of GM's volume.

 

Ford has 2 brands and 26 vehicles (counting the PIs as separate).

GM has 4 brands and 43 vehicles.

 

Which brand do you think is more efficient?

 

GM made $12B last year.

Ford made $10.4B last year with fewer vehicles, brands, factories and employees.

 

GM is doing great at the moment but their subprime lending and overproduction and poor management are putting them much more at risk than Ford.

FWIW Ford had more UAW members in 2016, and with GM's recent layoffs the gap is growing larger.
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Like I said GM is still building "classic" vehicles that are fleet only.

 

GM actually phased out the fleet only "classic" models like Cruze Limited, Malibu Limited, and Impala Limited last year. This was part of GM's strategy to reduce fleet sales and focus on real retail customers.

 

For 2017, there is a GMC Acadia Limited model available to retail customers. That should be it for "classic" models currently sold by GM in the U.S. When the new generation 2017 Acadia came out, it was a class smaller than the original Acadia. For 2017 GM offers both the new, smaller Acadia, as well as Acadia Limited (same as the original Acadia) for customers who want something bigger.

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The Chevrolet Cruze is up 88 percent. It seems though I've been seeing a lot more of the new-generation Cruzes on the road over the past 2-3 weeks, but that is a very large increase.

 

The new generation Chevy Cruze had a slow ramp up last year. It wasn't until the end of March 2016 that the car started arriving at dealerships at normal volume.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2016/mar/25/lordstowns-next-gen-cruze-has-arrived/

 

The low sales volume of Chevy Cruze in March '16 is part of why Cruze sales in March '17 increased so much when comparing those 2 months.

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