GM Sales Up 7 Percent from September
November 1, 2002GM Reports October Sales of 391,070, Down 32 Percent
- GM Sales Up 7 Percent from September, and Retail Sales Up 15 Percent from September
- Trucks Maintain Industry-Record Pace; October Car Sales Decrease 40 Percent
- GM Announces October Production Results; Q4 Forecast Increased
DETROIT- General Motors Corp. dealers sold 391,070 new cars and trucks in October in the United States, down 32 percent versus October 2001 when GM posted exceptional sales with its "Keep America Rolling" marketing program. GM's overall truck sales were down 26 percent, and GM car sales decreased 40 percent. When compared to September, GM posted a 7 percent overall sales gain, and retail sales increased 15 percent.
"Looking at the broader picture, we are pleased with our overall performance for the first 10 months of the year," said Bill Lovejoy, group vice president of North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "Our October retail sales were significantly higher than September results, but were down compared to an exceptionally strong October in 2001. In addition, GM's October market share results will likely exceed its year-to-date market share performance.
"Importantly, GM trucks remain on pace to set the all-time industry record, and we continue to post significant market share gains in many key segments of the business," Lovejoy said.
GM Truck Sales
With two months remaining in the calendar year, GM's SUV sales have already exceeded the industry calendar year record that GM set last year. For the calendar year through October, GM utility vehicle sales were up 23 percent. GM's midsize utility sales for the same period were 470,905, up 36 percent. Full-size utility vehicle sales for the calendar year through October (456,689) have increased 4 percent.
In October, GM delivered 110,541 utility vehicle sales, down 16 percent. GM's midsize utility sales for the month were 51,518, down 12 percent. GM's October sales of full-size utility vehicles (42,015 units) decreased 38 percent from exceptional year-ago levels.
GM Car Sales
Overall GM car sales were down 40 percent in October. However, two of GM's newest passenger car products posted impressive gains compared with their September 2002 sales. The Cadillac CTS had strong monthly sales of 4,848 units, up 26 percent, and the Pontiac Vibe sold 6,509 units, up 41 percent for the same period. The Chevrolet Impala also had a healthy month with 17,306 sales in the very competitive midsize segment of the passenger car market.
Certified Used Cars
GM's industry-leading certified used car program sold approximately 40,783 total certified used vehicles in October, including the Cadillac, Saturn and Saab certified brands. The GM Certified Used Vehicle brand alone had another strong month, selling 34,839 units. "Our GM dealers, GMAC and the entire VSSM organization are making our certified used vehicle business very successful for General Motors," Lovejoy said.
Click here to view the General Motors Corporation October 2002 Sales and Production data
GM Announces October Production Results and Revised Fourth-Quarter Production Forecast
In October, GM produced 578,300 vehicles (242,300 cars and 336,000 trucks) in North America, compared to 485,000 vehicles (215,000 cars and 270,000 trucks) produced in October 2001. (Production totals include joint venture production of 17,000 vehicles in October 2002 and 10,000 vehicles in October 2001.)
In addition, GM is revising its fourth-quarter production forecast for North America to 1.410 million units (600,500 cars and 809,500 trucks). The current estimate is up 10,000 units from the production guidance given in GM's recent third-quarter earnings' release. In the fourth-quarter of 2001, GM produced 1.294 million units (573,000 cars and 721,000 trucks) in North America.
GM also announced revised fourth-quarter production forecasts for its international regions:
- GM Europe – The regions' revised fourth-quarter production forecast is 469,000 vehicles, down 3,000 vehicles from last month's forecast.
- GM Asia Pacific – GM Asia Pacific's revised fourth-quarter production forecast is 82,000 vehicles, up 8,000 vehicles from last month's initial forecast.
- GM Latin America, Africa and the Middle East – The region's revised fourth-quarter production forecast is 166,000 units, up 11,000 units over last month's forecast.
GM cars and trucks are sold under the following brands: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, GMC, Saturn, Hummer, Saab, Opel, Vauxhall and Holden. GM parts and accessories are marketed under the GM, GM Goodwrench and ACDelco brands through GM Service and Parts Operations.
More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.
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Note:GM sales and production results are available on GM Media Online at http://media.gm.com by clicking on News, then Sales/Production. In this press release and related comments by General Motors management, our use of the words "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," forecast," "objective," "plan," "goal" and similar expressions is intended to identify forward looking statements. While these statements represent our current judgment on what the future may hold, and we believe these judgments are reasonable, actual results may differ materially due to numerous important factors that are described in GM's most recent report on SEC Form 10-K (at page II-15, 16) which may be revised or supplemented in subsequent reports on SEC Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Such factors include, among others, the following: changes in economic conditions, currency exchange rates or political stability; shortages of fuel, labor strikes or work stoppages; market acceptance of the corporation's new products; significant changes in the competitive environment; changes in laws, regulations and tax rates; and, the ability of the corporation to achieve reductions in cost and employment levels to realize production efficiencies and implement capital expenditures at levels and times planned by management.
|
October |
Calendar Year-to-Date | |||||
|
Curr S/D:27 |
2002 |
2001 |
% Chg |
2002 |
2001 |
% Chg |
|
Vehicle Total |
391,070 |
554,652 |
-32.1 |
4,075,779 |
4,178,125 |
-2.4 |
|
Car Total |
151,318 |
244,113 |
-40.3 |
1,759,669 |
2,001,256 |
-12.1 |
|
Truck Total |
239,752 |
310,539 |
-25.7 |
2,316,110 |
2,176,869 |
6.4 |
|
Light Truck Total |
236,673 |
306,800 |
-25.7 |
2,284,589 |
2,142,238 |
6.6 |
|
Light Vehicle Total |
387,991 |
550,913 |
-32.2 |
4,044,258 |
4,143,494 |
-2.4 |
|
Market Division Vehicle Total | ||||||
|
Buick |
31,591 |
45,926 |
-33.8 |
356,057 |
346,580 |
2.7 |
|
Cadillac |
18,711 |
20,155 |
-10.6 |
164,133 |
145,128 |
13.1 |
|
Chevrolet |
204,295 |
313,747 |
-37.3 |
2,219,914 |
2,271,399 |
-2.3 |
|
GMC |
48,233 |
65,957 |
-29.6 |
462,897 |
457,714 |
1.1 |
|
HUMMER |
3,868 |
67 |
***.* |
11,784 |
638 |
***.* |
|
Oldsmobile |
12,057 |
18,533 |
-37.4 |
135,262 |
208,003 |
-35.0 |
|
Other - Isuzu |
1,270 |
1,102 |
11.0 |
11,278 |
12,958 |
-13.0 |
|
Pontiac |
41,884 |
54,409 |
-25.9 |
443,347 |
473,308 |
-6.3 |
|
Saab |
1,844 |
4,820 |
-63.2 |
32,290 |
32,234 |
0.2 |
|
Saturn |
27,317 |
29,936 |
-12.1 |
238,817 |
230,163 |
3.8 |
|
Sales of Domestically Produced Vehicles | ||||||
Car |
149,473 |
238,723 |
-39.7 |
1,727,141 |
1,959,620 |
-11.9 |
Light Truck |
236,673 |
306,800 |
-25.7 |
2,284,589 |
2,142,238 |
6.6 |
|
Twenty-seven selling days for the October period this year and twenty-six for last year. | ||||||