!NEW! GM’s Retail Sales up 7 percent, Outpacing Industry

Average transaction prices hit record $34,000; incentives down during month

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) dealers delivered 256,047 vehicles in the United States in March 2014. Total sales were up 4 percent compared with a year ago. Retail sales were up 7 percent and GM gained retail market share.

Fleet sales were down 5 percent due to a planned reduction in rental deliveries. However, commercial fleet sales were up 5 percent for the fifth consecutive monthly increase.

“GM’s retail sales, like the weather and the economy as a whole, have been on an improving trend since early February,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of Sales Operations. “We expect to see solid economic growth in the months ahead, with the job market, household income and consumer spending all showing positive signs. It is a strong backdrop for the launch of our all-new heavy-duty pickups, large SUVs and other new products, like the Cadillac ATS coupe coming this summer. 

“Our dealers continue to work hard to exceed people’s expectations for customer care, whether they are shopping for one of our award-winning new products or coming in to have their vehicle serviced,” he said

March Retail Sales Highlights (vs. 2013)

• Deliveries of the Chevrolet Silverado, the 2014 North American Truck of the Year, were up 14 percent and the GMC Sierra was up 23 percent. 
• During the month, Vincentric, which uses a proprietary model to measure cost of ownership attributes including depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance and repair costs, said the Chevrolet Silverado family has the lowest cost among full-size pickups.
• Deliveries of Chevrolet passenger cars were up 10 percent. The Spark was up 17 percent; Sonic was up 20 percent; the Volt was up 7 percent; the Impala was up 103 percent; and the Corvette, the 2014 North American Car of the Year, was up 221 percent.
• Deliveries of the Cadillac SRX were up 37 percent. In addition, the CTS family was up 11 percent on the strength of the new 2014 CTS sedan, which is the 2014 Motor Trend Car of the Year.
• Sales of the Buick Regal were up 52 percent and the Encore was up 71 percent.
• Sales of large SUVs were up 62 percent, with availability of the all-new 2015 models building, per plan.
• GM’s incentives as a percentage of average transaction prices, or ATPs, were 10 percent compared with 10.3 percent for the industry, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates through March 23. That is down from February and year over year.
• GM’s ATPs set a new record of about $34,000, up about $2,000 per unit from February and more than $3,800 from a year ago, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates.                                                               

GM delayed this release for several hours due to a computer systems issue that impacted dealer sales reporting. These results reflect sales reported through GM’s primary and backup dealer systems and we believe they accurately reflect March sales, although it is possible that a few hundred March deliveries may be reported in April.