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John Goreham Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com 7-5-2019 Each quarter GM breaks down the company's deliveries (often called sales). Normally, the breakdown is by model. That means the Silverado is one line item. Same with Sierra. However, the auto press is all abuzz with reports that the Silverado has slipped to number three in sales overall behind Ram. While true, there is more to the story and we are not ones to make excuses for GM here as you know if you follow the GM-Trucks.com news page. What is really happening is that GM is crushing it. Everything the company is focusing on is doing great. Including Silverado and Sierra. GM is still transitioning the generations and the sales & deliveries are following the production ramp. To help illustrate this, GM included -for the first time- a breakdown of the Sierra and Silverado trucks by capacity. In other words LD (light duty) HD (heavy duty) and MD (medium duty). We won't bore you with a long list of numbers, but we took away one interesting fact we suspected could never really prove. GM sells three times as many LD trucks as it does HD. MD is a very small segment. So now we know that! Here's what GM had to say. “The light-duty segment is the highest-volume part of the pickup market and we are expanding choice to make sure that we meet the needs of every customer,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president, Sales Operations. “Heavy-duty trucks, by contrast, are about 25 percent of full-size pickup sales. Our HDs are purpose-built machines for people who need maximum capability, and we are poised for significant growth.” GM also came right out and said what its fleet sales volume is - 23% of all sales. Contrast that with Honda that is nearly zero and you can see that the two companies, though they have some overlap, are in different businesses. Also important to GM, since it is quitting on "cars," is that its crossovers are selling like hotcakes. And it makes no difference where they are built. Buick's imports from China are selling well, as are the Mexico-built Chevy's. As are the SUVs made in the U.S. Here are the GM Highlights from its sales report this week: -Crossover sales set a new second quarter record after sales grew year over year by 17 percent. -Sales of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 crew cab and GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab were both up 12 percent year over year. -The Chevrolet Equinox and Traverse and GMC Canyon all delivered record second quarter sales. -Sales of every Buick crossover were up year over year, with the Envision posting a 28 percent sales increase. The Enclave was up 21 percent and the Encore was up 5 percent. -Buick deliveries were up 5 percent and GMC deliveries were up 10 percent. -The all-new Cadillac XT4 continues to lead its segment and the all-new Cadillac XT6 has begun shipping to dealers. Cadillac crossover deliveries were up 19 percent in total year over year, helping the brand grow both total and retail sales. -The Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe and GMC Yukon XL were each up more than 20 percent compared to a year ago. Here Are Some Truck-Specific Notes: -GM has installed new body shops, upgraded paint shops and reconfigured general assembly at its plants to increase capacity by 20,000 units compared with the outgoing model. -Based on the most recent data available, retail customers have registered more GM full-size light-duty pickups in 2019 than either Ford or Ram. GM light-duty registrations have also led Ford F-150 in 11 of the last 12 months. -The first new GM models to launch were the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra crew cabs in late summer 2018. Sales of each were up more than 12 percent in the second quarter versus a year ago. -After two consecutive quarters of double-digit year-over-year growth, GM’s crew cab mix has risen from 60 percent of sales to almost 75 percent. -Full production of all cab styles started in March for both retail and fleet orders, and inventory is approaching target levels, especially for the most affordable regular and double cab models. Sales of these models were down year over year due to limited availability. -Customer demand for Chevrolet’s new Trail Boss models — the first full-size pickups equipped with a 2-inch factory-installed lifted suspension — have far exceeded expectations, so GM will double production. In addition, for 2020, Chevrolet will offer both Trail Boss models with a 420-hp, 6.2L V-8 engine. -More than 95 percent of all-new GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab sales are high-end trims including SLT, AT4 and Denali. -GM is introducing a new refined, very powerful and extremely fuel-efficient 3.0-liter Duramax diesel that is expected to be available later this quarter. -GM has consolidated heavy-duty pickup production at its Flint (Michigan) Assembly plant. The company has installed new body and paint shops and created 1,000 new jobs to support a capacity increase of 40,000 units compared to the outgoing model. -The company is sharply increasing production of crew cab and diesel models to meet customer demand. -Early production will be focused primarily on crew cab models, similar to the light-duty launch cadence. Trucks began shipping to dealers in the second half of June, with availability expected to grow throughout the third and fourth quarters.

John Goreham Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com 4-2-2019 General Motors released its Q1 U.S. sales figures today and the sales report is optimistically titled, "The First of GM’s All-New Pickups Posts a 20 Percent Q1 Gain." Yet, Silverado sales were down by 16% to 114,313 units. Sierra was down by 2.2.% to 40,546. We looked back two years to 2017 and found that the Silverado was down compared to 2017 as well (128,456 units in Q1 2017). Sierra's sales were 49,810 in Q1 of 2017. So, in a nutshell, GM's trucks were down for the second consecutive year in Q1. Yet, GM found a headline that says "up 20%." How? Deeper in the GM sales report the company says, "Combined sales of the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 crew cabs — the first of the company’s all-new full-size pickups to launch — were up 20 percent year over year." So, there is the answer. If that makes any sense. GM seems to clarify the situation by saying, "Availability of all-new regular-cab and double-cab pickups was very limited during the quarter due to launch timing, but full production of all cab styles started in March and they currently are arriving in dealer showrooms." Overall, GM's sales were down 7%. GM attributes this to a very strong Q1 2018. GM sees a rebound for the full year. “After a slow start to the year, the retail SAAR has risen each month since January,” said Elaine Buckberg, GM chief economist. “Consumer sentiment continued to recover in March and the other key drivers of auto sales like employment, wage growth and household balance sheets are healthy. The Fed paused in raising interest rates, which eases a headwind facing auto sales. Overall, the U.S. economy is in solid shape, which bodes well for the industry outlook.” The Canyon was down for the quarter, but the Colorado was up 16% with 34,494 units sold. Compare that to the segment-leading Tacoma which sold 22,798 units just in March. Image courtesy of Zane Merva.

John Goreham Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com 12-5-2018 The hard-working research team over at iSeeCars has completed a new study. This new one doesn't use the easiest to understand metrics, but the conclusion is pretty clear. Among all vehicles being promoted by manufacturers this holiday season, trucks are among those with the lowest incentives. What the group looked for this time were models that had the highest number of advertised deals that took 5% or more off of the sale price of the vehicle. In other words, how many deals are out there, not necessarily the best deal with the single most savings. Many deals are regional and iSeeCars included used cars in this analysis of over 2.4 million sales transactions. The average percentage of listings that offer a deal that takes 5% or more off the price of a vehicle this time of year is 40.5%. That means about 4 out of ten vehicles are already being discounted before a shopper arrives. iSeeCars looked at how a given model varied from that average. In other words, is a model more or less likely to be a model with a deal. The top model for deals is the outgoing BMW 3 Series. The lucky auto writers who cover that model are on planes as we type this story headed to the new 3 Series launch. BMW and used car dealers is trying to get rid of the older series ahead of the new. The Mercedes E-Class and the Audi A4 are also being heavily advertised with deals. “The growth in popularity of auto leases in recent years has led to an influx of these often-leased luxury vehicles in the used car marketplace after their lease terms end,” said Phong Ly XCEO of iSeeCars. Among all types of vehicles, trucks have the least number of deals. The Silverado is among the vehicles with the lowest number of deals overall. If you think about the state of the truck market now, this seems to make sense. The Ram, Silverado, and Sierra are all new for this season. The full study can be found here.

John Goreham Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com 7-10-2018 Story Summary: GM sold more trucks, faster, with lower incentives, at a higher average price in the first half of 2018. General Motors released its quarterly sales this past week and a close look at the data reveals a strong increase in truck sales. In the first half of this year, GM sold 51,389 more trucks than the in the first half of last year. When broken down by model the numbers seem even more impressive. Chevy sold 39% more Colorados with just under 70K delivered. Chevy sold 11% more Silverados with 291K delivered. GMC sold 13% more Canyons with just under 17K delivered. GMC sold 2% more Sierras with just under 101K delivered. By comparison to Ford, GM sold a total of 478,671 pickup trucks in the first half of the year and Ford sold 451,138. Ford's F-Series sales were up 5% for the half-year period. GM’s GM Chief Economist Elaine Buckberg pointed straight to the recent Republican-written tax plan that was signed into law just before Christmas. “Tax reform raised take-home pay, consumer confidence is high and household balance sheets are healthy,” Buckberg said. “All of this plus a strong job market makes consumers more willing to commit to major purchases like vehicles.” Those consumers include businesses. GM says that 22% of its overall sales in the first half of 2018 were commercial sales. GM sees an opportunity given Ford’s announced exit from the passenger car market. “Commercial customers tell us they prefer to do business with a company that can satisfy all their vehicle needs, and sedans are an important part of the mix because they typically offer very good safety, comfort, fuel economy and a lower total cost of ownership than other vehicle choices,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president, Sales Operations. “Some automakers are scaling back their car offerings at the same time we are investing in the Chevrolet Cruze and Malibu, and expanding our truck and crossover portfolio. We see a terrific opportunity to forge new and stronger customer relationships with such a broad portfolio.” GM’s increased sales did not come from higher incentives. GM says its incentives were down in the period and that average transaction prices increased by about $300 per vehicle.

John Goreham Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com 5-1-2018 This marks the first month since General Motors joined Tesla in being the only two automakers who only report their monthly sales quarterly (as required by SEC regulations). Like all mainstream automakers, GM had reported its sales monthly for years. The reports help the media and investors with 12 updates per year on how the sales of one of the world's largest companies were trending. No more. Most monthly sales reports were relatively bland and almost ridiculous in the way that anything negative was seen in a positive light. We enjoyed making a bit of fun of those. We enjoyed the ones when GM passed Ford in truck sales and the great news that the new compact crossovers from GM were trending towards the top of the category more. Watch for the sales reports to be more meaningful now that they will come quarterly. Watch also for Ford and FCA to follow GM's lead in making the reports quarterly. Toyota's reports are much more detailed. We are not sure if Toyota will opt out as quickly. So far, no other automaker has announced its intentions to follow GM's sales news blackout.

John Goreham Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com 4-3-2018 In GM's most recent monthly sales report GM announced that it will stop reporting sales the way every major automaker does. Instead of monthly reports, the company will switch to a quarterly reporting method. GM wrote in its report, "GM ...will begin reporting its U.S. vehicle sales on a quarterly basis, effective immediately. For 2018, second quarter sales will be released on July 3, third quarter sales on October 2 and fourth quarter sales on January 3, 2019." As a public company, GM has to report its sales volumes quarterly to investors. “Thirty days is not enough time to separate real sales trends from short-term fluctuations in a very dynamic, highly competitive market,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president, Sales Operations. “Reporting sales quarterly better aligns with our business, and the quality of information will make it easier to see how the business is performing.” The only other automaker in the U.S. who reports sales quarterly is Tesla, Inc. The general consensus is that it is to hide disappointing sales and production figures from the public, though some may disagree with that interpretation. GM's sales were up significantly in March and are up about 4% year to date.

John Goreham Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com 1-3-2017 General Motors found the silver lining in a year that saw a slight decline in sales. GM opted to highlight Chevrolet’s increase in retail market share to begin its 2017 sales recap. GM says that its Chevrolet retail market share is “Up one point since 2015.” Lower in the sales overview GM actually clarifies that it is up to 11.2% in retail sales since late 2014 at which time its retail market share was 10.2%. Chevy has gained a bit of retail sales market share in each of the past three years, showing steady progress. Despite the retail gains, Chevy was down 1.5% in total sales. Buick had a good year overall with new model introductions, but its shift away from cars is the real news. Buick is now a crossover company with a few car models gathering dust. 80% of Buick’s retail sales are crossovers. Three-quarters of them are made outside of North America. The top-seller is the subcompact Encore followed by the Chinese-built and imported Envision midsize/compact crossover. Buick ended the year down about 5% in sales. Cadillac was down 8% in the U.S. this year. The only really bright sales news is the XT5 crossover which sells well among its peers. Cadillac cars continue to decline. The ATS and CTS were down 39 and 35% for the year. The Bolt electric vehicle did very well in its segment, finishing second overall among all U.S. EVs and first among affordable EVs. With its sales continuing to climb, the Bolt has proven itself a success in its first full year of sales. Trucks were also a highlight. GM confirms that it sold more pickups than any other automaker in 2017. Yes, that includes the Canyon and Colorado. Heading into 2018, the biggest GM news will be the new Silverado and Sierra. We expect to know more about those two in the coming weeks.

By Zane Merva Executive Editor, GM-Trucks.com 10/2/2014 The all new Silverado is a hot seller. Chevrolet sold over 50,000 of the new model in September. The truck now occupies 39% of the large pickup market. The strong monthly sales numbers represent a 54% increase over the same period in 2013. Light duty Silverado sales rose 71% and had the strongest month in a decade. The Silverado's new double cab is also proving to be popular, with sales of the shorter two door model up 130% over last year. The brand also noted it had sold approximately 2,000 of the special 2014 Rally Edition pickups. “Our Chevrolet dealers took advantage of pent-up demand in the full-size truck segment and by offering customers more choices, we’re bringing more truck buyers to Chevrolet at the expense of some of our competitors,” said Brian Sweeney, U.S. vice president, Chevrolet. “We intend to continue this momentum with new models such as the Rally Edition – released in August – and the High County HD, which shipped to dealers last month.”

By Zane Merva Executive Editor, GM-Trucks.com 6/3/2014 General Motors reported United States May 2014 sales figures this morning. The company's dealer network delivered 284,694 vehicles last month, up 13% from May of 2013. It was the company's best May sales numbers in seven years. Sales of the full-size Silverado and Sierra also saw a bounce, with the Silverado gaining 8-percent and the Sierra gaining a healthy 14-percent over last May's figures. Sales of GM's all new 2015 full-size SUVs doubled. 2014 May Sales Highlights vs May 2013 (some notes taken from GM Press Release) 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. 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 sales up 14% Buick up 11% w/ best May since 2005 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. 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. Attached Images: Click here to view the article