!NEW! GM Reports Best Monthly Sales Since August 2008

May total sales up 13 percent; retail sales up 10 percent

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) dealers delivered 284,694 vehicles in the United States in May, up 13 percent compared to a year ago, marking the company’s best May in seven years and its best total sales since August 2008. Retail sales – vehicles sold to individual buyers – were up 10 percent while fleet sales were up 21 percent. GM expects to increase its total market share year over year.

“The momentum we generated in April carried into May, with all four brands performing well in a growing economy and 17 vehicle lines posting double-digit retail sales increases or better,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of Sales Operations.

For the month, Chevrolet sales were up 14 percent in total, driven by a 26 percent increase in car deliveries. Buick sales were also very strong, with deliveries up 11 percent in total and 10 percent on a retail basis. Buick had its best May total and retail since 2005. Both Cadillac and GMC had their best May total and retail sales since 2007.

May Sales Highlights (vs. 2013 except as noted)

• The seasonally adjusted annual selling rate (SAAR) for light vehicles was an estimated 16.5 million units – the third consecutive month above 16 million.
• Cruze was up 41 percent. Chevrolet Corvette deliveries were up 268 percent, Spark sales doubled, Camaro was up 30 percent and Impala was up 23 percent.  Malibu retail sales were up 12 percent.
• Retail sales of Chevrolet and GMC large SUVs doubled, while retail sales of the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain were up 16 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
• Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra sales were up for the third month in a row, with May deliveries up 8 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
• At Cadillac, sales of the CTS sedan were up 39 percent and Escalade deliveries were up 30 percent. SRX sales were up 27 percent, for the vehicle line’s best May ever.
• Buick Encore deliveries more than doubled and Regal sales were up 49 percent.
• GM’s average transaction prices (ATPs), including full-size pickup ATPs, were in line with April. Calendar year to date, GM’s ATPs are up about $2,700.  
• Incentive spending as a percentage of average transaction price was 10.4 percent, down 0.5 points from a year ago, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates. The industry average for May was 9.9 percent.  
• Commercial fleet sales were up 21 percent for the seventh consecutive monthly increase and the best month since September 2008. Within commercial fleet, full-size van sales were up 46 percent and full-size pickups were up 35 percent.
• Small business deliveries, which are included in retail sales, were up 10 percent.

GM’s fleet deliveries in May exceeded expectations due to the timing of rental customer deliveries, and May will likely represent the company’s highest fleet volume month of 2014. Last year, June was GM’s highest volume fleet month. As a result, GM expects that June 2014 year-over-year fleet sales will be down sharply.

!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.