Cars and Drivers

GM Reports 3% Dip in November Sales, Inventory Overhang Rises to 83 Days

Paul Ausick

Published: December 1, 2017 11:30 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 5:51 am

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) on Friday posted total November U.S. sales of 245,387 vehicles, a decrease of 2.9% compared with November 2016. Retail deliveries dropped 0.1% in the month to 197,340 units, and fleet deliveries rose to 19.6% for the month. Fleet sales now account for 19.4% of 2017 sales.

GM reported 819,327 units in inventory at the end of November, up by 5,679 from the total at the end of October. That represents an 83-day supply, up from an 80-day supply at the end of last month. The company is targeting a total inventory of 850,000 units or fewer by the end of the year. GM also seeks an inventory mix that includes fewer cars and more trucks, crossovers and utility vehicles.

GM’s new vehicle sales for November were forecast at 250,000 by analysts at Kelley Blue Book (KBB). The analysts also estimated an average transaction price of $39,997, down 0.6% month over month and down 0.3% year over year. KBB does not include applied consumer incentives to its calculation.

GM said that the company’s average transaction price topped $37,000 for the first time ever and that the average was almost $4,500 above the industry average and nearly $2,000 higher than any domestic competitor.

The company said average November incentive spending as reported by J.D. Power was 12.9% of the company’s average transaction price for the month. In October incentive spending was reported as 13.2% of the average transaction price. The company said last month’s average transaction price, net of incentives, rose more than $650 month over month and more than $1,400 year over year.

November sales of the company’s top-selling Silverado pickup rose by 6.2% year over year to 46,441 units while GMC Sierra sales dipped 4% to 18,136 units.

Sales of the Colorado midsize pickup rose 19.3% to 10,346 units, and the comparable GMC Canyon saw a sales decrease of 26.4% to 2,510 units.

Cadillac brand retail sales tumbled by 12.8% in November. Cadillac sales totaled 13,359 units in the month.

Total Chevrolet deliveries in October decreased by 1.1% year over year to 167,777 units, with retail sales rising by 1.9% to 128,485 units. The Chevy Equinox SUV posted a sales decline of 8.9% in November, and the Impala full-size car saw a sales pickup of 54.1%. The Equinox is the Chevy brand’s second-best selling vehicle, behind Silverado.

The company’s Buick brand saw a year-over-year sales decline of 3% in November, including a decrease of 3.5% in retail sales. The Buick Enclave posted a year-over-year sales gain of 87.7%, while Encore sales fell 12.8%.

For the auto industry as a whole, GM’s forecast for the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of sales is 17.4 million, down by 600,000 from last month’s estimate.

GM’s stock traded down about 1.3% Friday morning, at $42.55 in a 52-week range of $31.92 to $46.76. The 12-month consensus price target on the stock is $46.88.