Hurricane Ravaged Regions Propel GM Sales Forward 12% In September

General Motors today reported a 12 percent year-over-year increase in total sales in September to 279,397 units, driven by a 17 percent increase at Chevrolet and an 9 percent increase at GMC.

• Crossover deliveries were up 43 percent, trucks were up 10 percent and passenger cars were down 11 percent.
• Retail deliveries, which accounted for about 80 percent of sales, were up 8 percent for GM’s best September retail performance since 2007. GM’s U.S. retail share is estimated to be up 0.6 percentage points.
• Commercial and Government deliveries were up 25 percent and 38 percent, respectively. GM has gained U.S. Commercial market share for 14 consecutive months.

“Our new crossovers from Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac have been very well-received and Chevrolet had an outstanding month with the Silverado and Colorado,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of Sales Operations. “We are entering the fourth quarter with strong momentum, great products and a healthy economy.”

GM Chief Economist Mustafa Mohatarem said all the key U.S. economic indicators point toward continued economic growth and stability. In addition, regions devastated by the recent hurricanes will continue to recover, helping spur new and used vehicle sales.

“The overall strength of the U.S. economy is the main force driving the market,” he said. “With the U.S. economy strengthening, retail sales should remain strong for the foreseeable future.”

Chevrolet

• Best September since 2004.
• Silverado was up 14 percent.
• Equinox and Traverse, Chevrolet’s newest crossovers, were up 69 percent and 104 percent, respectively, the best September ever for Equinox and the best month ever for Traverse. 
• Bolt EV had its best month ever with 2,505 retail deliveries and 2,632 total deliveries.
• Best month ever for Chevrolet electrified vehicles (Bolt EV and Volt), with 3,929 retail deliveries.
• Trax was up 8 percent for its best September ever.
• Impala was up 7 percent.

Buick

• Enclave, Encore and Envision were up 41 percent, 12 percent and 44 percent, respectively.
• Encore had its best month ever.
• Highest ever SUV/crossover mix at 87 percent.
• LaCrosse ATP up 10 percent year to date.
• Buick maintained its retail focus with more than a 50 percent reduction in fleet deliveries year to date.

GMC

• Terrain was up 66 percent for its best September ever.
• Overall Denali penetration was 33 percent, the highest monthly rate ever.
• Denali penetration on Sierra reached 38 percent in September.
• Year-to-date ATP is highest in GMC history at $43,210.
• Sierra had the highest ATP in its segment for 12th straight month.

Cadillac

• XT5 was up 36 percent.
• Combined XT5 and SRX deliveries were up 12 percent year to date.
• Year-to-date ATP was up $260 to $53,748, higher than many German luxury brands

• U.S. inventory levels are down about 160,000 vehicles in the third quarter.
• The company’s inventory target is unchanged, which is to end the year with stocks at or below last year’s level of about 850,000 vehicles, with fewer cars and more trucks, crossovers and utilities in the mix.
• According to JD Power PIN estimates, GM’s September incentive spending as a percent of ATP was 14.6 percent, which reflects special programs that support disaster relief. Year to date, GM’s incentive spend is below its domestic and many Asian competitors. 
• Year to date, GM has the lowest daily rental mix of any full-line automaker at 8.7 percent of total sales. GM remains committed to decrease daily rental sales by 50,000 units in 2017.