GM October 'Keep America Rolling' Sales Up 31%
GM Announces October Production Results and Fourth Quarter Production Plans Best Sales Since September 1986 GM October Truck Sales up 47%, GM Car Sales up 16% GM SUVs Continue on Industry Record Pace Total Sales up despite decline in fleet sales DETROIT - General Motors dealers sold 554,652 new cars and trucks in October in the United States, spurred on by GM's Keep America Rolling program. Vehicle sales were significantly stronger than expected, keeping the industry on pace for the third-best year ever. GM October sales were the best since September 1986. "What else can you say about October sales but WOW! Keep America Rolling clearly brought buyers into our dealerships with GM sales up 31 percent, despite a decline of 60 percent in daily rental fleet sales," said Bill Lovejoy, group vice president of North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "Our intent was to promote a clear, simple program that would make a significant impact. Not only did we exceed all sales expectations but early indications show a significant increase in new buyer conquest rates, proof once again that GM products being launched this year are bringing in new customers." Lovejoy continued, "These outstanding results would not have been possible without our dealers strong support and local promotional efforts." GM TRUCK SALES HIGHLIGHTS GM increased its industry truck leadership with 310,538 sales in October (up 47 percent), an all-time monthly sales record, putting GM on pace to have its best truck sales year in history. For October, GM's industry-leading truck lineup was led once again by midsize utilities, full-size utilities and full-size pickups, which all reported records. The strongest results in October came from sport utility vehicle (SUV) sales, keeping GM on pace to set an all-time industry SUV calendar year record. GM's full-size utilities (64,894 units - up 63 percent over last year) dominated the industry once again in October led by the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL as well as the all-new Cadillac Escalade. GM's all-new midsize SUVs, the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, Oldsmobile Bravada and Buick Rendezvous continued to gain sales momentum, increasing GM's midsize utility sales (56,323 units) by 47 percent over last October. GM also maintained its leadership in full-size pickups in October (129,805 units - up 103 percent over last year) and is on pace for the best year since 1978. GM expects its total truck sales leadership performance to continue through the end of the year with Buick Rendezvous, Chevrolet Avalanche and Cadillac Escalade all increasing in availability. GM Car Sales Highlights In October, GM car sales of 244,113 were up 16 percent. For the month Cadillac achieved its best October retail car sales since 1993. In addition, solid sellers, Chevrolet Impala, Malibu and Cavalier, as well as the Pontiac Grand Am remained in the top-10 best selling cars CYTD. Furthermore, GM is expecting to build momentum in the luxury and entry level markets with all-new vehicles, Cadillac CTS, Saturn Vue and Pontiac Vibe coming to market within the next few months. October Sales Records CYTD Records (Cont'd) GM Trucks Chevrolet Utilities Chevrolet Trucks GMC Utilities GM Pickups Chevrolet Tracker Chevrolet Pickups GM Midsize utilities GMC Pickups GM Full-Size utilities GM Full-size Pickups Chevrolet Suburban Chevrolet Silverado Chevrolet Tahoe GMC Sierra GMC Yukon and Yukon XL GMC Utilities Cadillac Escalade GM Midsize Utilities Chevrolet Impala Chevrolet Tracker Saturn L-Series GM Utilities Best Month Ever GM Full-Size Utilities GM Trucks Chevrolet Suburban Chevrolet Trucks Chevrolet Tahoe GM Pickups GMC Full-Size utilities Chevrolet Pickups GMC Yukon XL GMC Pickups Cadillac Escalade GM Full-Size Pickups Chevrolet Impala Chevrolet Silverado Chevrolet Cavalier GMC Sierra Saturn L-Series GM Utilities CYTD Records GM Midsize Utilities GM Trucks GM Full-Size Utilities GM Pickups Chevrolet Impala Chevrolet Trucks GM Utilities GM reported another strong sales month of approximately 16,900 total used certified vehicles, including the Cadillac and Saturn certified brands. The GM Certified Used Vehicle brand achieved record numbers for the fifth consecutive month exceeding 13,800 sales. GM Announces October Results and Fourth Quarter Production Plans In October, GM produced 485,500 vehicles (215,500 cars and 270,000 trucks) in North America, down from 527,000 vehicles (261,000 cars and 266,000 trucks) produced in October 2000. (Production totals include joint venture production of 10,000 vehicles in October 2001 and 13,000 vehicles in October 2000.) Because GM’s Keep America Rolling campaign has led to two strong months of retail sales, GM is reaffirming its previous fourth-quarter production guidance of 1.27 million vehicles (563,000 cars and 707,000 trucks). GM also announced the following production estimates for its international regions: GM Europe – The fourth-quarter estimate is 439,000 vehicles, unchanged. GM Asia Pacific - The fourth-quarter estimate is 77,000 vehicles, down from the previous estimate of 83,000 vehicles. GM Latin America, Africa and the Middle East – The fourth-quarter estimate is 122,000 vehicles, down from the previous estimate of 145,000 vehicles.