Silverado and Sierra Both Down, Yet GM Sales Report Claims Gains - Which Is True?

Gorehamj · April 2, 2019

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.

Jricharc · April 2, 2019

They all somehow put a spin on any numbers, however I am hoping this leads to better incentives in the coming months.

Edited April 2, 2019 by Jricharc

Likarok · April 2, 2019

Noticed that as well. Until they clear the left over 2018 and the 2019ld trucks I think you won't get a true sales figure. lmo

garagerog · April 3, 2019

Way back when I was a freshman in college I took a psych 101 course. First required reading was a short book titled "How to Lie with Statistics". That has stuck with me all my adult life. That and the old saw, "take everything with a grain of salt".

GMCShack · April 3, 2019

6 hours ago, garagerog said:

Way back when I was a freshman in college I took a psych 101 course. First required reading was a short book titled "How to Lie with Statistics". That has stuck with me all my adult life. That and the old saw, "take everything with a grain of salt".

Yep, read that book as well, good reading. Of course they say 67% of all statistics are made up on the spot. ;)

23 hours ago, Likarok said:

Noticed that as well. Until they clear the left over 2018 and the 2019ld trucks I think you won't get a true sales figure. lmo

They are making good deals with good incentives on 2018s but don't seem to be in a real panic to sell them off. My dealership said most customers want the 2019s now anyway.

On 4/2/2019 at 3:23 PM, Jricharc said:

They all somehow put a spin on any numbers, however I am hoping this leads to better incentives in the coming months.

I agree, not enough incentives on the new 2019s yet, Jan/Feb had better incentives and rebates than March or April (so far) and I think that will change by May. If not, then whenever (or IF) they release any carbon fiber beds or add Adaptive Cruise Control (ADC) to at least the Denali line. BTW, how do those number compare with Ford F-150 and Ram trucks? I am biased as a GMC owner but I think the Sierra Denali is the best truck you can buy at any price right now against the top of the line 150, Ram, Tundra (if they count) and even Chevrolet. Just my 2.5 cents worth.

wforrest08 · April 3, 2019

Duh so simple GM sold 20% more 019s in the first quarter of 19 than 18,17,16,ect cause they never sold 019s in the first quarter of 18,17,16,ect... ?

jlong1984 · April 4, 2019

Both Ford and Ram were up, not looking too good for GM keeping the #2 spot.

whypac · April 4, 2019

3 hours ago, jlong1984 said:

Both Ford and Ram were up, not looking too good for GM keeping the #2 spot.

GM is falling. Ram 1500 out sold Silverado. GM only out sold Ram when Silverado/Sierra are combined.

Edited April 4, 2019 by whypac

Imcrazy · April 5, 2019

The Rams certainly seem to have it in the looks department, the HEMI blows the doors off of an ECOTEC 5.3L in the GM Trucks... My concern with giving Ram a shot is two fold; they're owned by Fiat which is not an American company so the profits flow overseas and two: Chrysler products don't have a great reputation for reliability and longevity, if nothing else here in the northern states they rot out really young from salt on the roads compared to all other brands... If I was leasing my trucks yeah I'd give 'em a shot but, I drive about 25-30k miles a year and reliability is king for me and unless Ram & Ford can catch up to Chevy for longevity I will have a tough time jumping ship from GM...

Sierra Dan · April 5, 2019

RAM is discounted up to 18k off.

GM does not get it.

Limelight · April 5, 2019

1 hour ago, Sierra Dan said:

RAM is discounted up to 18k off.

GM does not get it.

Or maybe they do? Profit at the expense of sales....

That said, If you GAVE me a Ram I would sell it. lol

Wiggums · April 6, 2019

120,000 RAM's. $15,000 off. That's $1.8 billion loss. In 2017, FCA made $4.2 billion while GM lost $3.8 billion in the same time. We don't know how much FCA and GM spent on retooling their factory to produce the 2019 models but I'm guessing it could be a billion bucks.

Can Chevy afford to lose that much? FCA is good at cutting corners and that shows in the new RAM trucks.

GPGuy · April 8, 2019

On 4/3/2019 at 10:30 AM, garagerog said:

Way back when I was a freshman in college I took a psych 101 course. First required reading was a short book titled "How to Lie with Statistics". That has stuck with me all my adult life. That and the old saw, "take everything with a grain of salt".

When I was in university we took a course purely on how to read statistics and how to lie with them so we would never take numbers at face value. Anybody or any company can use numbers to prove their point when twisted around the right way.