The recovery at General Motors continues and new pickup trucks, full-size now and mid-size next year, in North America will boost profits.
General Motors today posted sales of 226,402 vehicles in the United States during October, up 16% year-over-year, even though the Reptilian, sorry, Republican Tea Party shut down of the Federal Government for the first two weeks of the month severely shook consumer confidence. GM’s retail sales were up 16% and fleet sales were up 14%.
“Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick, GMC all performed well in the month, and the sales tempo really picked up after the government shutdown ended,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president, U.S. sales operations.
In the face of Republican Party hostility toward a healthy economy:
- Buick sales increased 31% to 18,000.
- Cadillac’s sales increased 10% to 15,000 and have grown in each of the last 13 months helped by the new XTS and ATS.
- GMC was up 16% at 39,000 and the Terrain had its best October sales ever.
- Chevrolet – the key brand in GM’s global plan – was up 15% at 155,000 vehicles almost outselling Toyota’s entire three-brand lineup, which came in at 169,000 Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles
Thirteen GM nameplates posted double-digit increases, including every SUV and crossover nameplate. Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra accounted for 49,000 pickups for a better than 10% increase. Silverado (42,660) is by far GM’s best selling vehicle. Second is the Equinox at 17,163.
