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GM says it financial performance for Q1 2017 produced a net income of $2.6 billion. Earnings per share or (EPS-diluted) were $1.70, up +37%. GM set Q1 records for revenue, EBIT-adjusted and EBIT-adjusted margin. There were also Q1 records for GM North America with an EBIT-adjusted of $3.4 billion, +49%, and a margin of 11.7%, up 3 percentage points. GM Financial had net revenue of $2.9 billion, up +38.7%.
During the first quarter, GM delivered globally 2,343,773 vehicles, -34,261 or -1.4%. In the U.S., it delivered 689,521 total vehicles, with a 16% increase in crossover deliveries and a 3% increase in truck deliveries. However, truck and SUVs are not resulting in incremental sales but rather hurting the sales of cars. These results included the best first-quarter retail sales since Great Recession of 2008, as GM increased its U.S. retail market share to an estimated 16.9%, up 0.3 percentage points. This is claimed to be the fastest growth of any full-line automaker. (Compact SUVs Make March Sales Roar and US March Sales Continue Torrid Pace)
In China, by far GM’s largest market, and the world’s, retail deliveries decreased -5.2% to 913,442, vehicles, attributed to a reduction in the country’s vehicle tax purchase incentive. (China Light Vehicle Sales Slow in January) Chevrolet continued its 16 years of South American market leadership, delivering 147,000 vehicles, up 10.9% compared to 2016.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
