US Auto Industry Vehicle Selling Rate 2004 V 2003

Industry selling rate up versus year-ago:  The cumulative selling rate for the industry during October was 17.4 million units (7.6 million cars and 9.8 million trucks).  Performance increased significantly compared to last October’s selling rate of 16.5 million units (7.3 million cars and 9.2 million trucks).  Industry sales for the month were up 2.7 percent, slightly above GM’s expectations.  Calendar year-to-date sales are up 1.9 percent.

GM Top Stories

GM Sells 346,058 Vehicles in October

·          GM sold 346,058 vehicles in October, down 5 percent compared to year-ago levels.  Truck sales were down 4 percent, and car sales were down 5 percent.  Launch vehicles sold well in October, as did utilities, which were up.

GM Truck Sales

·          GM truck sales declined 4 percent versus year-ago levels.  GM led the industry in truck sales by over 20,000 units in October and over 440,000 units for the calendar year-to-date.  Cadillac set a new monthly truck sales record, beating the previous record set in 2003.  Mid-size pickup deliveries were up 26 percent on the strength of the all-new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon.  This was the second consecutive month that medium pickup sales were up 25 percent or more compared to year-ago levels.

·          With 69,555 full-size truck deliveries in October, GM’s lead over the competition is over 43,000 units for the calendar year-to-date.  The combined October sales of Chevrolet Silverado and Avalanche and GMC Sierra accounted for 34 percent of the segment.   

GM Utility Vehicles

·          GM’s sport utility vehicle sales in October were up 1 percent and maintained their record-setting pace.  GM again led the industry in utility sales in October, surpassing the 100,000-unit sales mark for the seventh month this year.

·          While GM’s total car sales declined 5 percent compared to last year, several vehicles had year-over-year increases including Cadillac XLR; Chevrolet Malibu, Impala, Corvette and Monte Carlo; Pontiac Bonneville; and Buick LeSabre.  Additionally, Pontiac G6 and Cadillac STS sales are exceptionally brisk as production ramps up.

                                2004                            Sales       Calendar Year

                              Oct. Sales                  chg.*      Share point chg.

GM                          346,058                        -4.7%        -0.3

Ford                        268,492                    -5.0%        -1.3

DCX                        200,085                   +2.6%        +0.2

Toyota                   171,012                   +13.0%       +0.9

Honda                   110,502                  +10.2%        -0.1

Nissan                     86,831                   +27.2%       +0.9

*Calculated on a selling days basis.

·          Best-selling GM trucks: GM ranked six trucks on the industry’s Top 20 best-selling truck list for October: Chevrolet Silverado (#2), Chevrolet TrailBlazer (#5), GMC Sierra (#7), Chevrolet Tahoe (#11), GMC Envoy (#18) and Chevrolet Colorado (#20).

·          Best-selling GM cars: GM ranked five cars on the industry’s Top 20 best-selling car list for October: Chevrolet Impala (#3), Chevrolet Malibu (#7), Pontiac Grand Prix (#11), Chevrolet Cavalier (#13) and Saturn ION (#19).

Divisional Sales Highlights

CADILLAC

·          Cadillac’s calendar year-to-date sales are its best since 1990 and are up 9 percent compared to year-ago levels.  Cadillac’s share of the luxury market segment has increased by 0.8 percent.

·          Escalade ESV calendar year-to-date sales have increased 24 percent, with the Escalade brand calendar year-to-date sales up 7 percent.

·          The Escalade line-up leads the large luxury utility segment in both sales and share for the calendar year-to-date.

CHEVROLET

·          Chevrolet sales were up 4 percent in October, with Malibu sales up 157 percent, Corvette sales up 39 percent and Impala sales up 52 percent.

·          On the truck side, TrailBlazer sales were up 32 percent, which was its best-ever October sales.  Equinox had its second best sales month since launch and Colorado had 10,917 sales.

 GMC

·          GMC remains poised to exceed 600,000 deliveries for the first time in its history.

·          Envoy had another strong month with deliveries up 29 percent compared to last year.

·          GMC sales for the calendar year-to-date are up 6 percent.

HUMMER

·          HUMMER had its best sales month for the calendar year, with 2,554 deliveries.

PONTIAC

·          Pontiac sales for the calendar year-to-date are up 5 percent.  Car sales have improved 9 percent, led by Bonneville sales, which continued to improve year-over-year with a 33 percent sales increase in October and a 38 percent increase for the calendar year.

·          Grand Prix deliveries are up 15 percent for the calendar year.

SATURN

·          Vue sales were up 7 percent in October and 9 percent for the calendar year.

VSSM Certified Used Vehicles – October 2004

Oct. ’04  CYTD                      % Chg. vs. Oct. ‘03

GM Certified Used Vehicles                              40,666                   369,389                      +16.5 percent

Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned                             3,304                       29,913                      +22 percent     

Used Cars from Saturn                                        2,796                       33,100                        -1 percent

Saab Certified Pre-Owned                                     706                         7,411                        -20 percent       

Total                                                                       47,472                   438,813                      +15 percent

·          GM Certified Used Vehicles, the industry’s top-selling certified brand, set a new monthly record for the certified category with an all-time high of 40,666 sales in October.

·          GM Certified Used Vehicles continues to lead the certified pre-owned category with 369,389 sales for the calendar year-to-date, up 11.5 percent from the same period last year.

·          GM certified pre-owned sales for all GM brands through October are 438,813, up 10 percent versus year-ago levels.

·          GM’s share of the certified used market for the calendar year-to-date has increased 1.7 points to 33.5 percent.

·          GM Certified Used Vehicles led all brands in the certified pre-owned segment with a share of 28.1 percent through October, up 1.5 points compared to last year.

Street Talk

The following statement regarding the Buick LaCrosse was written by Tom Kean, Keane On Wheels (Oct. 8):

“Quietly, Buick has climbed into second place in the worldwide dependability rating.  After the 2005 LaCrosse gets factored into the equation, Buick might become the world leader.

“I used the word ‘quietly’ for a reason.  Lexus is the current dependability leader and its products are known for reliability and a quiet ride.  That also describes the new LaCrosse; it too, is a high-quality, well constructed sedan with an exceptionally quiet interior – yet not as expensive as a comparative Lexus model.”

Note:  GM sources sales data (including competitive data) from Ward’s Communications on a monthly basis.