By Justin Berkowitz
October 1, 2008
It really could have been a lot worse. Or, as GM puts it, “”GM outpace(d) major competitors this month… total September sales were down 16 percent compared to an industry decline anticipated to exceed 20 percent.” Yes, well, there’s this little matter of “Employee Discount” pricing inflating sales and eating into margins. And fleets. Let’s not forget the fleets. Anyway, while metal was moved, everyone took a hit for the team; all eight GM brands posted significant losses. Chevrolet was down 11.2 percent; Cadillac was down 39.1 percent; Buick dropped 20.5 percent; Pontiac fell 26 percent, Saturn skidded 10.8 percent, and Saab continued its erosion by 27 percent for the month. A handful of models made headway. The Chevrolet Malibu rose a staggering (and suspicious) 62 percent (fleets!). The Impala increased 17.1 percent. The Pontiac Vibe co-production (with Toyota) jumped some 90 percent, to 5703 units. AS for gas – elctric non-sequitors, “For the month, a total of 1,957 hybrid vehicles were delivered as GM hybrids continue to gain in popularity in the marketplace.” Remind me again how many billions GM spent on its two-mode hybrid system?
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POWERED
October 1st, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Considering how far Toyota fell this month, GM has to be a little confident… hopefully, they’re not doing a Shaq in the process…
(Actually, I don’t see Hummer in there. Did GM even bother to report that side of the equation?)
October 1st, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Wow, what happened to Caddy? Any one know why they stood out so much?
October 1st, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Wow, what happened to Caddy? Any one know why they stood out so much?
Wild guess, but I’m assuming that Escalade sales cratered…
October 1st, 2008 at 3:05 pm
FYI …. Hummer was 2298 for the month, down 54.8% from last September. Down 47.4% YTD.
OUCH!!!!!!!
October 1st, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Here are the details
http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/84/84530/sales_production/Deliveries_September_08.pdf
October 1st, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Cadillac cars: down 32.8% (including the CTS dropping 32.0%).
Cadillac trucks: down 49.9%, with almost all of them dropping by around that number.
Telling that the press release touts the success of their “launch products,” which used to include the CTS, but didn’t mention it anywhere until it fell 32% in September.
October 1st, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Imagine the numbers if “Employee Pricing for Everyone” banners weren’t at every dealership in the nation.
Maybe GM will really, really miss Bill Heard. As if!
October 1st, 2008 at 3:36 pm
192% retail increase for the Malibu doesn’t strike me as surprising, considering how rancid the ‘07
model was. I imagine almost all of the previous year went to fleets, wheras this year most (but probably still not enough) are retail.
October 1st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Although I like to see GM not being the worst of the worst, the big winners on their sales charts seem to be Impala and Malibu, which makes me think that fleets (not necessarily daily rental) cushioned most of the blow.
With respect to the CTS, this may be more a case of GM blowing out the old version last year causing a spike in sales.
Other than maybe pickups and Vibe sales… yikes!
October 1st, 2008 at 4:46 pm
And fleets. Let’s not forget the fleets. Anyway…
Do we have any numbers to actually indicate what their fleet sales were in respect to the overall total?
October 1st, 2008 at 5:13 pm
“Remind me again how many billions GM spent on its two-mode hybrid system?”
It just doesn’t make any difference at this point. Historic cost is irrelevant to bankrupt companies.
October 1st, 2008 at 7:52 pm
8766 Trailblazers? Who the hell bought them???