General Motors reported sales of 210,245 vehicles in the United States for the month of September 2012, representing a 1.5 percent increase compared to the same time frame a year ago. The results mark GM’s highest U.S. September sales since 2008.
Overall, car sales increased 29 percent in September compared to the same time period last year, while sales of GM’s mini, small, and compact cars increased a whopping 97 percent (combined). In addition, all GM brands increased their retails sales during the month.
The sales boost is partly due to GM’s lineup of new vehicles with better designs, increased levels of technology, and improved fuel economy — which are generating increased consumer interest. Meanwhile, the automaker is embarking on a product offensive in which 70 percent of its nameplates will be all-new or redesigned in 2012 and 2013. In addition, GM is entering new growth segments with new entry points for each brand.
2012 - September - USA - Chevrolet
| MODEL | VOLUME % CHG | 2012 | 2011 | YTD % CHG | YTD 2012 | YTD 2011 |
| CHEVROLET TOTAL | +1.5 | 149,801 | 147,611 | +4.9 | 1,420,383 | 1,353,943 |
| AVALANCHE | +9.1 | 2,030 | 1,861 | +22.6 | 17,149 | 13,989 |
| AVEO | -99.8 | 2 | 1,271 | -99.8 | 61 | 28,482 |
| CAMARO | -18.9 | 5,670 | 6,994 | -1.8 | 68,968 | 70,249 |
| CAPRICE | +224.3 | 454 | 140 | +475.3 | 2,865 | 498 |
| CAPTIVA SPORT | * | 2,849 | 0 | * | 27,148 | 0 |
| COBALT | -100.0 | 0 | 4 | -98.7 | 11 | 843 |
| COLORADO | +30.5 | 2,833 | 2,171 | +36.0 | 32,608 | 23,985 |
| CORVETTE | +17.8 | 1,351 | 1,147 | +2.9 | 10,570 | 10,270 |
| CRUZE | +42.5 | 25,787 | 18,097 | -3.7 | 180,600 | 187,524 |
| EQUINOX | +2.2 | 15,835 | 15,497 | +15.0 | 166,862 | 145,035 |
| EXPRESS | -48.6 | 3,881 | 7,556 | +12.0 | 57,886 | 51,674 |
| HHR | -99.4 | 1 | 158 | -99.9 | 21 | 36,771 |
| KODIAK 4/5 SERIES | * | 0 | 0 | * | 0 | 10 |
| IMPALA | +10.4 | 15,259 | 13,822 | +1.5 | 140,179 | 138,122 |
| MALIBU | +0.7 | 11,188 | 11,114 | +4.8 | 179,465 | 171,266 |
| SILVERADO | -16.6 | 36,425 | 43,698 | +0.6 | 298,200 | 296,436 |
| SONIC | +427.7 | 7,525 | 1,426 | +3,695.2 | 64,746 | 1,706 |
| SPARK | * | 2,223 | 0 | * | 6,313 | 0 |
| SUBURBAN | -38.0 | 3,254 | 5,246 | +2.4 | 33,860 | 33,055 |
| TAHOE | -46.7 | 4,696 | 8,813 | -12.6 | 49,481 | 56,636 |
| TRAILBLAZER | * | 0 | 0 | * | 0 | 33 |
| TRAVERSE | -27.8 | 5,687 | 7,873 | -19.7 | 67,042 | 83,464 |
| VOLT | +294.3 | 2,851 | 723 | +319.7 | 16,348 | 3,895 |
2012 - September - USA - Buick
| MODEL | VOLUME % CHG | 2012 | 2011 | YTD % CHG | YTD 2012 | YTD 2011 |
| BUICK TOTAL | +7.9 | 14,673 | 13,599 | -2.0 | 137,262 | 140,092 |
| ENCLAVE | -13.5 | 4,210 | 4,868 | -6.4 | 41,561 | 44,404 |
| LACROSSE | +5.6 | 4,580 | 4,338 | +0.0 | 45,066 | 45,058 |
| LUCERNE | -99.8 | 2 | 1,068 | -94.6 | 966 | 17,973 |
| REGAL | -44.7 | 1,839 | 3,325 | -37.2 | 20,523 | 32,657 |
| VERANO | * | 4,042 | 0 | * | 29,146 | 0 |
2012 - September - USA - GMC
| MODEL | VOLUME % CHG | 2012 | 2011 | YTD % CHG | YTD 2012 | YTD 2011 |
| GMC TOTAL | +0.0 | 33,192 | 33,194 | +3.9 | 306,558 | 294,934 |
| ACADIA | +16.5 | 6,159 | 5,287 | -38.0 | 63,857 | 62,013 |
| CANYON | +21.2 | 555 | 458 | -7.0 | 7,618 | 7,634 |
| ENVOY | * | 0 | 0 | -100.0 | 0 | 5 |
| SAVANA | +18.8 | 1,005 | 846 | +31.8 | 17,259 | 13,096 |
| SIERRA | -1.9 | 13,636 | 13,904 | +4.5 | 112,181 | 107,342 |
| TERRAIN | +8.3 | 7,486 | 6,910 | +11.6 | 70,826 | 63,451 |
| YUKON | -38.0 | 2,071 | 3,338 | -21.3 | 19,149 | 24,337 |
| YUKON XL | -7.0 | 2,280 | 2,451 | -8.1 | 15,668 | 17,056 |
2012 - September - USA - Cadillac
| MODEL | VOLUME % CHG | 2012 | 2011 | YTD % CHG | YTD 2012 | YTD 2011 |
| CADILLAC TOTAL | -1.3 | 12,579 | 12,741 | -8.6 | 103,512 | 113,190 |
| ATS | * | +611.0 | 0 | * | 611 | 0 |
| CTS | -33.5 | 3,103 | 4,663 | -8.2 | 38,465 | 41,900 |
| DTS | -99.7 | 2 | 583 | -95.7 | 462 | 10,755 |
| ESCALADE | -40.2 | 913 | 1,527 | -11.4 | 9,294 | 10,491 |
| ESCALADE ESV | -16.5 | 595 | 713 | +0.4 | 5,795 | 5,770 |
| ESCALADE EXT | +8.0 | 188 | 174 | -4.7 | 1,348 | 1,415 |
| SRX | -4.9 | 4,660 | 4,901 | +0.9 | 40,224 | 39,861 |
| STS | -99.4 | 1 | 180 | -94.7 | 157 | 2,986 |
| XLR | * | 0 | 0 | * | 0 | 12 |
| XTS | * | 2,506 | 0 | | 7,156 | 0 |
2012 - September - USA - GM Total
| BRAND | VOLUME % CHG | 2012 | 2011 | YTD % CHG | YTD 2012 | YTD 2011 |
| GM US TOTAL | +1.5 | 210,245 | 207,145 | +3.4 | 1,967,715 | 1,902,172 |
| BUICK | +7.9 | 14,673 | 13,599 | -2.0 | 137,262 | 140,092 |
| CADILLAC | -1.3 | 12,579 | 12,741 | -8.6 | 103,512 | 113,190 |
| CHEVROLET | +1.5 | 149,801 | 147,611 | +4.9 | 1,420,383 | 1,353,943 |
| GMC | +0.0 | 33,192 | 33,194 | +3.9 | 306,558 | 294,947 |
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— Alex Luft
Alex is the Founder of GM Authority and focuses on covering GM's global business operations and strategy.
Regal sales are very dissapointing. What’s the problem here? On the Chevy side, the bright spots continue to be Cruze, Sonic and Impala with the Spark coming on strong. As for GMC, the Acadia and Terrain seem to be doing well.
Can we see in future sales figures for Europe divisions GM – Opel/Vauxhall and Chevrolet?
wait how come Acadia is increasing and for Traverse and Enclave is decreasing??
611 ATS sold in September………………not very good…..over 4,000 Veranos……………
Ah itll pick up, I think dealers are just receiving adequate inventory. I think November sales will give us some clarity on ATS sales, until then, I reserve judgement.
Verano sales are impressive, better than I thought.
Babersher….still thought ATS would be better…yes, Verano is a star..see a lot about; lovely car for the money…..
The ATS didn’t get a full month’s worth of sales and inventory is still limited. It’s a launch model with a brand new nameplate… it’ll get there.
Yes, ATS should pick up…………….I wonder how many will buy base…..it lacks a lot
Alex, went to autotrader and looked at ATS all over country….lots of black and silver of course…most have the all black interior….boring. As a new model, we will see in a month or so how it goes
How are new Malibu sales? MotorTrend seems to just hate the Malibu.
I tested the Malibu and I loved it, but publications seem to just hate it for some reason.
@Jeff – The reason publications come up lackluster re: the new Malibu is that it absolutely is an improvement over the last generation model – it’s just not spectacular like some of it’s competitors are. Take the Fusion – it’s beautiful, and even a GM guy has to admit that. What makes Fusion even better is that it’s 4 cyl. standard model achieves better mileage than the more expensive Malibu ECO version, 2nd gen 2-Mode …..which is basically a wash. The new direct-injected, aluminum, turbo engines in the competition just outperform GM’s current flock of hardware. Add to this that, while not ugly, the Malibu is pretty pedestrian to most eyes – Esp. compared to the Fusion and Altima. To me, the Accord and Camry fall just behind Malibu in the looks department.
Appearance aside, GM just has to leverage it’s superior tech ( Voltec ) into more, and more affordable platforms. Engineering wins out over hype or packaging these days. GM has shown it has the engineering chops – it just has to stop the cheap route and put better hardware under the hoods of it’s most competitive models to keep up and/or surpass it’s rivals.
The “Heartbeat Of America” hogwash and “Runs Deep” nostalgia isn’t gonna hack it anymore. It’s not who has the best marketing, but who has the best product. Ford is just looking a whole lot like Toyota these days and hitting key markets square in the bullseye where GM seems to be hit-and-miss at the present time.
You sure the Fusion gets higher economy with its archaic 2.5 than the Malibu with its new 2.5?
@ Ray Smith – Hey Ray, you said Cruze and Impala where last month’s bright spots but you completely overlooked the amazing story of the Volt!
At a 294.3% improvement in sales over last year – one cannot deny the Volt is showing it’s detractors the back door. Just look at the models in GM’s lineup that didn’t sell as many units as the Volt! What this shows is NOT that August and 4 days of Sept. dealer incentives boosted sales – IT SHOWS despite it’s price, the Volt is attracting people who are fed up with $4.00 per gallon gas prices on the West Coast – and near that in the East and some other regions. One cannot deny any longer that if GM gets a handle on reducing Volt’s price of admission just a bit – it could give Prius and all the Prius offshoots definate runs for their money!
@ Silent Electrician – Standard 2.5 L 2013 Fusion rated at 22/34 with a Turbo 1.6 L Ecoboost option ( with Start/Stop tech ) rated at 25/37. Shockingly, the 2013 Fusion Hybrid EPA rated at 47/47! Out next ( December ) is Fusion Energi ( PHEV ) that Ford claims will EPA rate near 100MPGe!
2.5 Malibu mileage numbers are pending.
You know how I feel about all these ICE models. I’d save a bit more and buy a car with a plug. These standard 2.5L inline 4s are the vanilla base offerings of these cars that formerly, folks bought as the basic family car or daily commuter/grocery-getter. While fine used car pick ups for a deal – My advice is for these people to consider a hybrid or PHEV and add up the savings over 4-5 years of ownership with gas at these rollercoaster record prices.
Alex, thanks for putting this together it is good to see YTD and MoM data for each nameplate.