General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) today reported total sales of 207,145 vehicles in September, a 20% increase compared with September 2010. Retail deliveries were up 19% compared with the same month a year ago and accounted for 74% of GM sales. Deliveries to fleet customers increased 22%.
Based on early results GM is maintaining a market share of about 20%, which means it remains solidly in first place even as the Japanese maker are now back in full production. It also appears to prove the wisdom of the U.S. Treasury Department’s insistence on killing four brands, as part of the taxpayer bailout, and concentrating on the remaining four – Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac in descending sales order. However, Cadillac (+1%) appears to be badly trailing on an overall industry growth basis, which was up almost 10%.
The increase in GM sales came primarily from dealer deliveries of full-size pickup trucks and SUVs, which increased 34%. Silverado and Sierra sales totaled more than 57,000 units – 28% of GM’s total sales – without a significant increase in incentives, according to GM. Independent incentive data from Edmunds showed that GM lead the industry incentives during September at an average of $3,221 a vehicles, down 2.1% from GM’s 2010 average. Silverado alos had a $189 a month lease in effect – the equivalent of the lease of a compact car. GM car sales on a daily selling rate basis were down compared to last month.
The widely touted Volt hybrid sold a mere 723 units, 3,895 year-to-date. The reason for the slow sales was the fact that the Volt is just going on sale nationally, according to Alan Beattie, the head of Chevrolet sales. The number one trade in for the Volt was the Toyota Prius.
“For GM, all of the factors that say this is a good time to buy a new vehicle outweigh the bad news that appears to be slowing down the broader economic recovery,” said Don Johnson, vice president, U.S. Sales Operations.
During a conference call with reporters Johnson said that GM was sticking with its 2011 sales forecast for the industry at the low end of the 13-13.5 million unit range. To reach this the SAAR or seasonally adjusted annual sales rate would have to run at 13.5 million units or better for Q4 of 2011, a debatable proposition. SAAR in September was 13.1 million units.
Month-end dealer inventory in the United States was 558,157 units, a normal 66 day supply. GM’s full-size truck inventory was 208,650 full-size pickup trucks, which meant a slightly high 88-days supply based on current selling rates. GM said it is on track to meet its target of ending 2011 with a full-size pickup inventory of about 200,000 units.
