Cars and Drivers

GM September Sales Bounce Higher on Crossover Demand

Chevy Equinox 2016
General Motors Co.
General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) posted total September U.S. sales of 251,310 vehicles, an increase of 12.5% compared with September 2014. Retail deliveries rose 17.3%, fleet deliveries fell 3.3% and commercial sales rose 10% in September. Fleet sales of pickup trucks have increased year over year in 17 consecutive months. Total fleet deliveries for the year to date are down 5%, primarily on planned reduced sales to rental customers.

GM’s new vehicle sales for September were forecast at around 246,000 by analysts at Kelley Blue Book (KBB). GM’s average transaction price in September came in at $38,656, up 0.5% month over month and up 3.7% compared with September of last year, according to the KBB analysts. GM reported that its average September transaction prices rose $380 year over year and nearly $800 month over month. KBB does not include applied consumer incentives to its calculation. GM reported that September incentive spending was 11.2% of its average transaction price.

The best-selling vehicle in the month was the Chevy Silverado pickup, which saw a year-over-year sales gain of 7.1% to 53,725 units. The GMC Sierra pickups posted a gain of 17.8% in September and the Acadia SUV saw a sales gain of 4% to 6,647 units in the month.

Cadillac retail sales slipped 1.6%, following a 9.4% decrease in August. For the year to date, total Cadillac sales are down 1.7% and retail sales are down 4.6%.

Total Chevrolet deliveries in September were up 10.9% year over year. Sales of Camaro rose 2.6% year over year and sales of the Equinox crossover rose 24.7%.

The company’s Buick brand saw a year over year sales increase of 5% in September. Buick sales are down 1.8% for the year to date.

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For the auto industry as a whole, GM’s forecast for the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales is 18.3 million for September, well above the August estimate of 17.5 million.

GM’s stock traded up about 1.4% late Thursday morning, at $30.44 in a 52-week range of $24.62 to $38.99.

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