GM Reports August Sales of 472,427, Retail Sales up 4 Percent
DETROIT - General Motors Corp. dealers sold 472,427 new cars and trucks in August in the United States, comparable (down 0.5 percent) to August 2002 levels. GM's retail deliveries were up 4 percent, driven by record truck sales. GM's overall truck sales (284,129) were up 5 percent over a year ago. Car sales (188,298) were down 8 percent, reflecting an 18 percent decline in fleet deliveries.
"GM had another great month in August, due to retail sales that exceeded strong year-ago levels, " said John Smith, group vice president of GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "Importantly, August sales continue to reflect strong truck sales and growing confidence in the economy. For the fourth time in the last five months, we set an industry record for total truck sales. Led by Silverado, our full-size pickups shattered the previous industry sales record for August. GM's total sales and share have consistently improved over the last six months, and with the introduction of 17 new 2004 car and truck models over the next year, our sales momentum will continue to build."
GM Truck Sales
GM's industry-leading truck lineup continues to establish new benchmarks for the industry. Full-size pickup sales (101,819) posted yet another monthly record, improving on strong year-ago sales by 18 percent. Overall, GM pickup sales were 122,513, also an improvement of 18 percent. Sales of GM sport utility vehicles
(126,597) were down a modest 2 percent compared to the best-ever industry record set a year ago. This is the fifth consecutive month in which GM sport utility sales surpassed 100,000 units. Deliveries of small utilities were up 32 percent, led by the Saturn VUE. Medium sport utility sales improved 12 percent, and large luxury utilities were up 10.5 percent as a result of record sales of both the Escalade family and HUMMER.
GM Car Sales
While GM car sales were down 8 percent, this reduction was largely due to a decline in fleet deliveries. Importantly, Cadillac CTS (4,278), Chevrolet Impala (29,236) and Pontiac Vibe (4,402) all had record August sales results. CTS sales were up 30 percent; Impala sales improved 72.5 percent; and Vibe sales were 14 percent above last year. Chevrolet Monte Carlo (6,936), Pontiac Grand Am (19,125) and Saab 9-3 (2,885) also had significant sales improvements over last year.
Retail sales were strong particularly in the entry segment, led by Chevrolet Cavalier (17,749), which improved 15 percent, and Saturn ION, which sold 11,142 units. In the mid-size segment, retail sales of the Chevrolet Malibu (9,718) were up 26 percent, and the Impala (17,825) had another exceptional month with retail sales 49 percent above year-ago levels. Also checking in with strong retail sales were the Pontiac Grand Am (9,629) with a 21 percent improvement and the Saturn L-Series (6,431), which was up 31 percent.
Divisional Highlights
Chevrolet - Chevrolet car and truck sales both were up 6 percent in August. Car sales were led by Impala, which had a 72.5 percent improvement over last year. Monte Carlo sales were up 20 percent. Sales of Chevrolet trucks set a new monthly record with 193,223 deliveries. Chevrolet full-size pickups (82,126) were up 23 percent in August, led by record Silverado deliveries (72,214), which were up 30 percent. Deliveries of S-10 pickups (16,514) improved 24 percent, and TrailBlazer had record monthly sales (27,264), up 27 percent.
Cadillac - Cadillac had its best sales month since October 1990. CTS had 4,278 deliveries in August, a monthly sales record, up 30 percent from last year and 62 percent calendar year-to-date. Total Escalade sales had its best-ever sales month with 5,616 deliveries, a 7 percent improvement over last year.
HUMMER - HUMMER's total divisional sales continue at a strong pace, increasing by 18 percent over 2002 results. H2 sales in August were 2,902, an 18 percent improvement from year-ago levels.
Saab - Saab divisional sales for August were 4,209, up 7 percent. Saab 9-3 sales (2,885) were strong again, with deliveries over twice last August's level.
Saturn - Saturn's total divisional sales were up 26 percent compared to year-ago levels. VUE sales were 8,509, a monthly record and an 83 percent increase over August 2002.
Pontiac - Vibe had record August sales (4,402), up 14 percent from year-ago levels. Grand Am sales (19,125) were improved 47 percent. Additionally, retail sales of the 2004 Grand Prix have improved month-over-month for the past six months.
GMC - GMC had another very good month with record August sales (59,563). GMC utilities (29,250) also had record August sales, with Envoy (12,822) and Yukon (9,462) both setting monthly sales records. Savana sales (4,065) were up 19 percent.
Buick - Rendezvous set an August sales record with 6,709 deliveries, and overall sales of Buick trucks were up 10 percent over last August, with sales of Rainier just beginning.
Certified Used Vehicles
GM's certified used vehicle program had solid sales in August with approximately 38,701 total certified used vehicle sales, including Cadillac, Saturn and Saab certified brands. "GM Certified Used Vehicles continues to set the pace for the industry, with overall sales for 2003 up approximately 31 percent from year-ago levels," Smith said. "We expect continued strong sales of our certified used vehicles through the fall and remainder of the year."
In August, GM North America produced 439,000 vehicles (174,000 cars and 265,000 trucks), compared to 499,500 vehicles (214,500 cars and 285,000 trucks) produced in August 2002. (Production totals include joint venture production of 9,200 vehicles in August and 14,900 vehicles in August 2002.)
GM is increasing its third-quarter production forecast for North America to 1.235 million vehicles (486,000 cars and 749,000 trucks), up 10,000 units from last month's forecast of 1.225 million units (479,000 cars and 746,000 trucks). In the third quarter of 2002, GM produced 1.307 million vehicles (567,000 cars and 740,000 trucks).
GM's initial fourth-quarter production forecast for North America is 1.35 million vehicles (562,000 cars and 788,000 trucks), down approximately 5 percent from last year's fourth-quarter production of 1.425 million units (601,000 cars and 824,000 trucks).
GM also announced current third-quarter and initial fourth-quarter production forecasts for its international regions:
GM Europe - The region's current third-quarter production forecast is 392,000 vehicles down 6,000 vehicles from last month's forecast. The region's initial fourth-quarter production forecast is 442,000 vehicles. GM Europe built 408,000 vehicles in the third quarter and 458,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2002.
GM Asia Pacific - The region's current third-quarter production forecast is 102,000 vehicles, down 1,000 vehicles from last month's guidance. The region's initial fourth-quarter production is 101,000 units. The region built 87,000 vehicles in the third quarter and 81,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2002.
GM Latin America, Africa and the Middle East - The region's current third-quarter production forecast is 138,000 vehicles, down 1,000 vehicles from last month. The region's initial fourth-quarter forecast is 141,000 vehicles. The region built 132,000 vehicles in the third quarter and 157,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2002.
General Motors Corp. , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, employs 341,000 people globally in its core automotive business and subsidiaries. Founded in 1908, GM has been the global automotive sales leader since 1931. GM today has manufacturing operations in 32 countries and its vehicles are sold in more than 190 countries. In 2002, GM sold more than 8.6 million cars and trucks, nearly 15 percent of the global vehicle market. GM's global headquarters is at the GM Renaissance Center in Detroit. More information on GM and its products can be found on the company's consumer website at www.gm.com.
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 11-15, 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.
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|
August |
Calendar Year-to-Date |
|||||
|
Curr S/D:27 |
2003 |
2002 |
% Chg |
2003 |
2002 |
%Chg |
|
Vehicle Total |
472,427 |
492,435 |
-0.5 |
3,214,783 |
3,372,434 |
-4.7 |
|
Car Total |
188,298 |
212,369 |
-8.1 |
1,340,071 |
1,469,899 |
-8.8 |
|
Truck Total |
284,129 |
280,066 |
5.2 |
1,874,712 |
1,902,535 |
-1.5 |
|
Light Truck Total |
280,685 |
277,103 |
5.0 |
1,848,001 |
1,876,769 |
-1.5 |
|
Light Vehicle Total |
468,983 |
489,472 |
-0.6 |
3,188,072 |
3,346,668 |
-4.7 |
|
Buick |
35,639 |
56,137 |
-34.2 |
233,376 |
293,348 |
-20.4 |
|
Cadillac |
22,119 |
21,942 |
4.5 |
135,051 |
128,700 |
4.9 |
|
Chevrolet |
266,756 |
261,495 |
5.8 |
1,807,166 |
1,856,307 |
-2.6 |
|
GMC |
59,563 |
59,418 |
4.0 |
380,404 |
378,178 |
0.6 |
|
HUMMER |
2,987 |
2,623 |
18.1 |
22,616 |
4,841 |
367.2 |
|
Oldsmobile |
8,796 |
14,506 |
-37.1 |
85,560 |
112,150 |
-23.7 |
|
Other - Isuzu |
1,042 |
1,139 |
-5.1 |
8,592 |
9,028 |
-4.8 |
|
Pontiac |
45,085 |
49,484 |
-5.5 |
309,281 |
368,335 |
-16.0 |
|
Saab |
4,209 |
4,072 |
7.2 |
33,085 |
28,386 |
16.6 |
|
Saturn |
26,231 |
21,619 |
25.8 |
199,652 |
193,161 |
3.4 |
|
Sales of Domestically Produced Vehicles |
||||||
|
Car |
184,089 |
208,288 |
-8.3 |
1,306,971 |
1,441,276 |
-9.3 |
|
Light Truck |
280,685 |
277,103 |
5.0 |
1,848,001 |
1,876,769 |
-1.5 |
|
Twenty-seven selling days for the August period this year and twenty-eight for last year. |
||||||
| * American Isuzu Motors, Inc., dealer sales of commercial vehicles distributed by General Motors Corporation as reported to General Motors by American Isuzu Motors, Inc. | ||||||