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General Motors U.S. Sales Down 1.6 Percent To 255,210 Units In June 2016

By GM Authority Staff

July 1, 2016 8:49 am

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Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac dealers in the United States delivered 255,210 new vehicles in June 2016, a 1.6 percent decrease compared to June 2015. Sales of the Chevrolet and Cadillac brands increased, while Buick and GMC sales decreased year-over-year.

The automaker is continuing to execute its strategy of reducing sales to rental fleets by refocusing on more profitable retail sales. Year to date, GM’s daily rental deliveries are down about 88,499 vehicles or 37 percent from a year ago.

GM sold 209,295 vehicles to retail (or individual) customers, an increase of 1.2 percent year-over-year. The growth was driven by increases at Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac. The automaker’s retail sales strength is demonstrated in the ongoing sales performance of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks: every month since January 2014, GM has sold more full-size pickups than any other original equipment manufacturer, according to Polk retail registrations and J.D. Power PIN retail sales data. GM is achieving these results while spending less on incentives than its competitors and commanding record Average Transaction Prices (ATPs).

“Our retail-focused strategy is resulting in the highest share gains in the industry. Chevrolet is the fastest growing full-line brand and we expect that trend to continue as the availability of newly launched products improves in the second half of the year,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of Sales Operations. “Our reduction in daily rental deliveries, disciplined incentive spending and well-managed inventories are showing real benefit in the residual values of our latest launched vehicles.”

What’s more, GM expects to have greater availability of midsize pickups, full-size pickups and small, compact and midsize crossovers in the second half of the year due to planned production schedules.

The automaker continues to capitalize on a strong, stable economy that is driving sales to small businesses, while expecting economic conditions to continue working in its favor for the second half of the year.

“Positive economic indicators like historically low interest rates, stable fuel prices, rising wages and near-full employment provide the environment for strong auto sales to continue in the second half of the year,” said Mustafa Mohatarem, GM’s chief economist. “These positive factors continue to point toward another record year for the industry.”

June 2016 notes (vs. June 2016, except as noted):

General Motors sales overview:

  • Sales types:
    • Overall sales volume decreased 1.6 percent to 255,210 units
      • Retail sales increased 1.2 percent to 209,295 units, accounting for 82 percent of total sales
      • Fleet sales decreased 12 percent to 45,915 units, accounting for 18 percent of total sales, below the company’s full-year guidance of 20 percent
    • GM’s focus on higher margin retail and commercial sales is enabled by strategic reductions in deliveries to daily rental fleets, which will continue throughout 2016
    • Commercial sales decreased 7 percent in June. Calendar year-to-date, Commercial sales are up 4 percent, driven by midsize pickup trucks, which are up 31 percent, and full-size pickup trucks, which are up 12 percent
    • State and local government sales were up 8 percent in June. Year-to-date, government sales are up 10 percent
    • Small business sales were up 2 percent in June and 5 percent year-to-date
  • Average Transaction Prices (ATPs) based on J.D. Power PIN estimates:
    • ATPs, which reflect transaction prices after incentives, were $35,423 in June, nearly $4,400 above the industry average and more than $1,800 above June 2015 performance
    • GM’s ATP on full-size pickup trucks was up $3,300 year-over-year. Year-to-date, GM’s ATP on full-size pickup trucks are up $2,600 compared to last year
    • GM’s incentive spending as a percentage of ATPs was 10.1 percent in June, well below domestic and many Asian competitors and below the industry average of 10.6 percent
  • Over the course of the year, GM is launching or planning to launch the following new vehicles:
  • June month-end inventory was 706,558 units for a 72 days supply, an increase of 36,041 units and 5 days from the 670,517 units and 67 days supply at the end of May 2016
  • GM estimates that the seasonally adjusted annual selling rate (SAAR) for light vehicles in June was 17 million units. On a calendar-year-to-date basis, GM estimates the light vehicle SAAR was 17.3 million units.
  • Year-to-date, industry sales are up 1 percent compared to the first six months of 2015

Chevrolet sales increased 0.07 percent to 181,387 units:

Cadillac sales increased 5.53 percent to 14,263 units:

Buick sales decreased 5.45 percent to 16,575 units:

GMC sales decreased 8.64 percent to 42,985 units:

Sales Results - June 2016 - USA - Chevrolet

MODELJUN 2016 / JUN 2015JUNE 2016JUNE 2015YTD 2016 / YTD 2015 YTD 2016YTD 2015
CAMARO-42.29% 4,9698,611-13.52%36,834 42,593
CAPRICE+17.61% 187159-39.35%487 803
CITY EXPRESS-77.54% 2411,073+12.00%4,798 4,284
COLORADO+37.98% 9,0496,558+23.22%51,227 41,575
CORVETTE-11.54% 2,4832,807-19.88%14,668 18,307
CRUZE-17.58% 18,66622,647-32.21%86,731 127,938
EQUINOX-10.01% 19,58221,760-16.72%121,320 145,685
EXPRESS+10.48% 5,7875,238+21.92%32,549 26,697
IMPALA+46.74% 12,3358,406-2.89%56,390 58,071
MALIBU+5.98% 16,13815,228+24.66%120,325 96,520
SILVERADO-3.66% 49,66251,548-0.79%273,652 275,822
SONIC-3.94% 7,5837,894-23.49%28,292 36,976
SPARK+70.05% 6,5593,857-5.76%18,291 19,409
SS-28.25% 254354+5.15%1,613 1,534
SUBURBAN+32.51% 3,9702,996-2.01%22,915 23,386
TAHOE+27.44% 7,8916,192+2.68%43,221 42,091
TRAVERSE-4.86% 8,2978,721-11.07%54,632 61,430
TRAX-2.93% 5,7965,971+17.41%29,135 24,815
VOLT+58.12% 1,9371,225+74.46%9,808 5,622
CHEVROLET TOTAL+0.07% 181,387181,256-4.44%1,006,890 1,053,619

Sales Results - June 2016 - USA - Cadillac

MODELJUN 2016 / JUN 2015JUNE 2016JUNE 2015YTD 2016 / YTD 2015 YTD 2016YTD 2015
ATS-14.97% 1,8802,211-21.93%9,764 12,507
CT6* 962**1,979 *
CTS-1.24% 1,5161,535-18.40%7,906 9,689
ELR+51.61% 9462-16.36%496 593
ESCALADE+16.89% 1,7791,522+5.59%10,464 9,910
ESCALADE ESV+19.05% 1,181992+2.37%6,553 6,401
SRX-74.21% 1,4825,746-36.86%19,074 30,207
XT5* 4,185**7,208 *
XTS-18.18% 1,1841,447-15.56%9,787 11,590
CADILLAC TOTAL+5.53% 14,26313,515-9.48%73,231 80,899

Sales Results - June 2016 - USA - Buick

MODELJUN 2016 / JUN 2015JUNE 2016JUNE 2015YTD 2016 / YTD 2015 YTD 2016YTD 2015
CASCADA* 755**4,071 *
ENCLAVE-30.64% 3,5975,186-13.59%24,254 28,070
ENCORE+10.22% 6,0915,526+19.22%36,421 30,549
ENVISION* 1,437**1,526 *
LACROSSE-49.93% 1,4882,972-32.58%13,963 20,710
REGAL-22.64% 1,1821,528-1.43%9,253 9,387
VERANO-12.68% 2,0252,319-16.36%14,719 17,598
BUICK TOTAL-5.45% 16,57517,531-1.98%104,207 106,314

Sales Results - June 2016 - USA - GMC

MODELJUN 2016 / JUN 2015JUNE 2016JUNE 2015YTD 2016 / YTD 2015 YTD 2016YTD 2015
ACADIA-34.19% 6,2009,421-22.16%38,182 49,055
CANYON+34.20% 3,3982,532+15.62%17,362 15,017
SAVANA-38.03% 1,5972,577-17.68%11,474 13,939
SIERRA-7.82% 17,16218,618+5.57%106,466 100,850
TERRAIN-1.81% 8,0628,211-13.84%46,877 54,410
YUKON+20.91% 3,9723,285+11.24%20,028 18,004
YUKON XL+7.77% 2,5942,407+5.66%14,198 13,438
GMC TOTAL-8.64% 42,98547,051-3.83%254,587 264,713

Sales Results - June 2016 - USA - GM Totals

BRANDJUN 2016 / JUN 2015JUNE 2016JUNE 2015YTD 2016 / YTD 2015 YTD 2016YTD 2015
CHEVROLET TOTAL+0.07% 181,387181,256-4.44%1,006,890 1,053,619
CADILLAC TOTAL+5.53% 14,26313,515-9.48%73,231 80,899
BUICK TOTAL-5.45% 16,57517,531-1.98%104,207 106,314
GMC TOTAL-8.64% 42,98547,051-3.83%254,587 264,713
GM USA TOTAL-1.60% 255,210259,353-4.43%1,438,915 1,505,545

About The Numbers

  • There were 26 selling days in June 2016 and 25 selling days in June 2015
  • Chevrolet totals include discontinued Captiva Sport

Further Reading

By GM Authority Staff

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Comments

  1. First, credit (again) to the planning the put the Canyon and Colorado into the marketplace — it took some guts to put a “small” truck back in the marketplace, and its been a great success.

    Also, great job on the Volt — the car is not only better, it looks different (than the previous generation) and better.

    Speaking of different looks, though, the Camaro. Ooof. Those numbers are terrible. The only thing I can think of is they did *not* make it look different enough from the previous generation and that has decreased interest. A car this new should not be tanking like this. A bad mark on Wellburn as he leaves, letting that through.

    And GMC better hope the new Acadia is a hit – I’d like to think the decrease over the past couple months is b/c of product supply issues as the new 2017 version gets rolled out, but with the Enclave tanking as well, and the Traverse not doing much better, I’m not sure. Hopefully Acadia numbers bump up quick — they should, as I’ve seen the new Acadia on the road, so the product is starting to get out there.

    Reply

    1. Not sure we can pin-point the Camaro sales conundrum to styling. If we follow that logic, then we should note that the fifth gen was a runaway success in large part thanks to its exterior design… and since the sixth-gen (gently) iterates on that design language while improving on other aspects of the vehicle in every single way, then — by that logic — it should also be a success.

      So, not “changing” the design of the sixth-gen Camaro is probably not the reason Camaro sales are down… especially given that it’s such an excellent vehicle. So, let’s look at other potential reasons:

      1. Reducing sales to daily rental fleets: how much this impacts the Camaro is currently unknown.
      2. The segment being down as a whole (Mustang sales were down 16.6 percent in June)
      http://fordauthority.com/fmc/ford-motor-company-sales-numbers/ford-sales-numbers/ford-mustang-sales-numbers/
      3. Availability issues: not sure if availability issues are still impacting the market at large; probably not as much as they were a few months ago. However, I do have two acquaintances still waiting to get their orders filled that were placed nearly 90 days ago. The cars have been built but have yet to be delivered.
      4. Marketing: self explanatory — outside of fans/enthusiasts/industry insiders, who knows that an all-new, much-improved Camaro is on the market?
      5. Lack of “base” L/LS trim to compete “dollar for dollar” with the Mustang, as the Camaro’s starting price is about $1,200 more than that of a “base” Mustang
      6. Lack of incentives: the Camaro currently has one lease and one 0% APR financing incentive, but zero “cash” incentives. By contrast, the 2016 Mustang has $1,750 on the hood or 0% APR + $1,000 cash incentive. That exacerbates the price different exemplified in #5 even further (to the tune of $3,500 on base models).

      So, let’s give the styling argument a rest, shall we? The real reason Camaro sales are down is somewhere between reasons 1 and 6 above.

      Reply

      1. Why would I give the styling argument a rest? As you note, a big reason for the 5th-gen being such a success *was* the design: it was modern, yet retro. People — from enthusiasts to critics to general folk, overall, loved it. It was even a star in a huge Hollywood movie, Transformers.

        However, the 6th-gen just didn’t “iterate” on it — GM that suggest a level of change that GM did not make. The Internet is littered with commenters and reviewers who note they can’t easily tell the difference btw the 5th and 6th gen without taking a hard look. I agree with them, and I (obviously) pay attention by reading sites like GM Authority.

        If you want to believe the styling is not a reason, or that rental car sales are making a difference (for a Camaro? It’s not a Malibu or Cruze) for the dramatic decline in Camaro sales, fine. But people should realize Camaro sales haven’t been this low, for the past two month, since at least 2009 (i.e., when we were in a huge recession). Your first full year of a brand-new generation car should easily exceed the previous year unless you screwed something up. And GM screwed more than a few somethings up with the new Camaro – it’s styling, marketing *and* pricing.

        Reply

      2. Camaro’s problem is two-fold and epitomizes much of what also plagues Cadillac. Let’s first dispel some of the background noise. June car sales are down about 16% across the board which doesn’t come close to Camaro’s prolonged rate of decline. GM emphasizing daily rental reductions and sales in terms of retail only will go so far from this point with far fewer reductions planned for H216. That’s just 6,000 June units and too few Camaros to be relevant.

        Camaro is hurting and the primary reason is Mustang’s wild success. Camaro is a much better car by every technical measure, but Mustang simply is a better car to own and customers don’t find any technical benefits sufficiently compelling. Ford hit a home run witih Mustang’s 2015 radical redesign and dominates the market. Camaro’s mild styling change hasn’t differentiated it enough to draw new buyers.

        Others are correct. No Camaro incentives are commensurate with a first year model and present stocks. At +/- $1,500 Mustang’s incentives are nominal for a third year version. Nothing to report here. Even if incentives were relevant, Musting is using them exceptionall well to win huge incremental profit rather than “stacking ’em deep and selling ’em cheap.” GT350 and GT350R certainly haven’t hurt. The marketplace simply prefers the present Mustang to Camaro.

        A similar phenomenon also is occurring at Cadillac with its two Alpha models which also are among the very best of their kind in purely technical terms. ATS and CTS are superb and even moreso on paper. But GM has focused so intently upon competing on the basis of PowerPoint presentations that it seems to have forgotten to make what people actually want to own. Skeptics may refer to the fact Lincoln’s tarted-up Fusion nearly outsells ATS and CTS combined.despite low incentives and being deep into its cycle.

        Camaro, CTS and ATS all benefit from a cutting edge platform which GM has used to maximum benefit, except for remembering to make cars which first and foremost people want to own, let alone pay a premium for the privilege. ATS and CTS also suffer from a lack of relative brand prestige, but consumers also hardly equate Lincoln MKZ with a C Class Mercedes. Until GM makes a Camaro, ATS and CTS people actually prefer to own, its sales momentum will continue to languish.

        Reply

        1. Lets cut the partisan BS.

          There has been no long decline of the Camaro. To be honest the 5th gen sales did pretty well right up to nearly the end. Many months they even beat the new Mustang.

          Now how did they beat the Mustang that was all new? Simple supplies were low at the dealers and the dealers were not coming off the price on the small number of cars they had.

          Once supplies caught up the dealers would work with you on price and you had many more cars to choose from to get just what you wanted and not wait for it to be built. Hmmmm? just the same thing happening with the Camaro in the first 6 months of slow start up production.

          As for Cadillac the issues there are much different. Must has to do with really not much leadership in the last 7 years as the head of the division was like a revolving door. Now we are two years in on a stable manager and his plans are being worked on now and it will take some time but this will start to pull together around 2019-20. For now they will play with options packages, some simple upgrades and pricing to buy time till the new products arrive. Right now there is not one JDM product on the market as no one can put a new product out in 2 years. It takes 5 to do it right from the start. That is when we pass judgment on if this is going to turn or not. I expect it will as GM is all in on this for once and that has not happened in decades.

          As for the market the last model Mustang was behind in sales much of the time. GM did dominate with the lat model and I expect will do the same once a verity of product gets to the dealers. I have yet to see a 4 at my dealer nor a convertible or even a 1LE yet as they are just at many dealers yet.

          As for Lincoln they are tarted up Fords and they will pay a price for that in the future. There is some profit in them but they will need to maintain a larger volume to realize this and that is not good in a luxury class. That turns you into the king of Bingo Halls, Trailer Parks and Walmart. Then you get discounted to lower profit levels.

          GM knows now they may have good cars but if they want Cadillac to excel they need to be great cars and they have committed to make them that.

          Ford on the other hand was set to Kill Lincoln as their past leader just wanted Ford. Once he left some of the wise insiders saved the division and are now trying to get Ford to go all in. Time will tell if they do but for Lincoln to thrive they need to have some major investment and as of now they are just not getting it. The use of Ford products as their base will only carry them so far. The insiders who saved the division know this and I hope they get their way as they have a clue. But the board is still not showing they are all in yet.

          As of now Cadillac is doing fine. Even at the lower levels they are making more profit than they did when they were selling higher volumes of rehashed GM FWD cars. In this segment it is not all about volume as it is profit per unit sold. That is what they are doing and with any increase in volume the profits will continue to grow. This buys them time to get the new product right that we will soon see.

          Even BMW when they came here were not a big deal and many people were looked at like Volvo owners. You know the quirky guy with the plaid driving cap. Then after about 10 years of the 3 series and the Ultimate Driving Machine slogan they became the icon like model people wanted to be seen in. Image takes time to build and many model changed not just one or two models and 3 years.

          Will they turn it around? Don’t know. I think they can but only time will tell. In the mean time they are paying the bills and making money with what they have.

          Success is measure different ways for different products as they hold different goals. You do not measure a CTS with the same ruler as a Cruze. They are different market and different marketing plans.

          Reply

        2. LOL…FOrd’s radical design departure of the 6th gen Mustang??
          yeah ok

          Reply

      3. One pulled up to cruise night for the first time, guy parked nobody noticed until someone said hey that’s the new one. Small crowd around then diminished quickly. The Mustang a year earlier pulled up and everybody crowded. Yeah most were crap talking it, mostly import guys and myself… But it did draw way more attention. Poor sales will hurt the aftermarket availability. The 2010 was a hit because it was the retro thing that was in at the time, plus a big gap in production. And let’s be honest I’m a F-body fan more than the 70s and 80s even. But there wasn’t much love for it. So people flocked to the 5th gen.

        Reply
        1. Reply

  2. It is simple.

    The dealers are not exactly stacked with many Camaro’s on the lots right now.

    The lack of incentives and dealers now willing to deal on a new model are your prime reasons for sales starting slow. We have seen this on many models over the years.

    It is all supply and demand on prices and with smaller supplies the prices are up and people do not buy.

    We also have seen this on the trucks as GM did not have as much money on the trucks as the others and people were waiting GM out. Now they have money on them and you will see an increase in sales accordingly.

    The market is trained to wait out the incentives. No one wants to pay top price and then a month later see the incentives take another $1500-2000 off a price. It is not like Best Buys that will refund you on what you bought last month.

    Base sales are not in the picture. No one buys base.

    The fleets will have some impact but not a ton.

    As for styling bases on sales the best thing they could do is not change the car a lot.

    My local dealer is a high volume dealer that can sell up to 10-12 Corvettes in a week but they are still having a time getting and keeping a Camaro on hand.

    Reply

    1. There are 263 new Camaros on sale in southeast Michigan. That compares to 258 Corvettes and 314 Mustangs.

      That doesn’t seem “stacked” with Camaros, but there is plenty of product out there.

      And if GM can’t sell a brand new-generation car, with a “clean sheet” design (etc), without huge incentives, then something went wrong.

      Reply

      1. OK smart guy lets have full disclosure here. Ok you have 263 Camaros on the dealer lots in Michigan.

        Now be honest and divide that by the number of Chevy dealers in the state. You get maybe 2-3 per dealer at best average. That is far from what is needed for good selections and better pricing.

        Dealers right now are selling these cars as soon as some get them in. If you want to get specific on a model you either have to order or wait. No color choice and no option choice if you by one of them off the lot.

        Also dealers are using supply and demand on pricing. If you want one they know you are not going to find the same car down the street so they know they do not have to come down on the price if you want it bad enough and if not they know someone else will.

        It really is that simple. Next year at this time the cars will be on the lots and most dealers will have 10 or more like the last gen and you will have choices and better pricing with and without incentives.

        Anyone who has been around this game know this. We saw the same thing at Ford on the Mustang when it came out.

        We had the same panty wastes crying over there that they took the Mustang too far and it was hurting sales. As supplies grew they sold better and pricing got to were the dealers would deal.

        So if you want to be honest and accurate when you post numbers average it per dealer to give the real picture. Just the number of Vettes alone show they have few Camaros as most dealers are lucky to have one or two Vettes unless they are of any real size.

        Some folks may accept your BS but you are not fooling Alex, me and many others.

        Reply

        1. Well Rob are you going to disclose the number of dealers in Michigan and how many car per dealer average out from 263 cars in the state?

          I bet nearly half of them are in Detroit and most dealers do not even have one in may locations. The average should be around 2-3 per dealer for the state. Not good supply numbers for someone shopping yet.

          I can see the Mustang forum is voting here or someone is playing games but that does not change the truth.

          You have no accurate case here and no matter what it will not change.

          Reply

          1. Still waiting Rob? Can’t back up your BS?

            You know it ain’t BS if you can back it up.

            We will revisit this in a 6 months as inventories fill up and settle and dealers come off price as inventory swells the Mustang and Camaro will be pretty much head to head and the Camaro may even pull ahead like the 5th gen did.

            Reply

            1. No BS — just on vacation. I spent my 4th of July weekend doing non-GM website activities.

              Got the info from cars.com — simple search: New; Chevrolet; Camaro; within 30 miles of Grosse Pointe. Today, there are 270 Camaros. If I choose a different location (e.g., Dearborn), the number is 290. You have choices.

              I don’t know how many Chevy dealers there are in metro Detroit — 30? 40? It’s not worth my time to figure out. But the ad at the top is from Mark Chevrolet: they have 5 new (and 4 used) in stock, which seems about right — 270 cars for about 40 dealers, so about 5-7 per dealer.

              And I don’t know how you shop for a car, but I don’t limit myself to one dealer, so what’s in stock in the area is the relevant info. When I bought a new Acadia a few years ago, the dealer I made initial contact with tried to pull a fast one when I sat down to go over the paperwork (“Oh…you actually *don’t* qualify for that $1500 incentive we talked about on the phone”) so I said “No thanks”, made a couple calls, and went right down Telegraph to another dealer. It wasn’t difficult.

              Reply

              1. The real number for Michigan is 2-3 cars per dealer if that. Even your number 5-7 is a low number for a car like this that most dealers will have 15-20 normally.

                You can not just surf the MFG web site and pass judgment on how many cars are available.

                Inventories will climb and as they do choices will be easier to make and the prices at the dealer will be more negotiable.

                This was the same thing we saw with the Mustang when it first arrived.

                Reply

  3. I guess my help of purchasing the Enclave didn’t help

    Reply

  4. Impala is up!!!
    I love this car!

    Reply

  5. Ok, the Camaro is going the same route as the ats/cts.. Too small with premium pricing along with poor livability/sightlines and surprise(low sales)! This is truly an embarrasment at this point. One that GM will not let slide.

    Reply

  6. Camaro aside, some big sellers are hurting: Silverado, Sierra.
    Buick and GMC are having a rough time:
    Still some bright spots … Colorado, Malibu, Impala, Encore. XT5’s off to a good start.

    And, yes, I know Cadillac’s ATP is admirable. But Johan wants 10 years to get margins up to 11%, and BMW’s been @ 15% for a few years already. So I don’t know how profitable Cadillac is, when everything’s factored in.

    On the other hand, this “Manhattan Project” thing seems to be a trend now – I read that Kellogg’s (whose sales are hurting), is going to open a “Kellogg’s NYC” cereal boutique – $7 for a bowl of corn flakes. (I’m not exaggerating).

    The good news is, milk’s included. No word yet on berries or banana slices.

    Reply

  7. These sales are horrible – lots of spin here to make it look good, but there is precious little good news here.

    Cadihack is tanking – those who defend this moribund brand like to point to higher transaction prices, but the fact remains that the styling is stale and the vehicles are not impressive; ATS and CTS continue to kill each other; the Seedy Six is underwhelming on all counts and its sales are almost invisible. This was supposed to be the car that gave Cadihack street cred. The interior is cheap looking and whoever approved the interior and exterior design of this car needs to be fired.

    Despite some biased truck comparison ads, Chevrolet is fading as a truck maker. It was bad enough they took their 1999 truck, tarted it up a bit, and passed it off as new in 2014. Over a billion was spent on this non-remake and the sales show – truck buyers are not fooled by deceptive ads and weak trucks and Chevrolet isn’t even a second rate product anymore; and consistent with Total Recall Motors math, they have to add Chevrolet and GMC sales to try to beat Ford even while trying to say that these trucks are really not the same thing – not badge-engineered.

    The Chevrolet Shamaro has to be one of the biggest jokes of 2016 – supposedly it was going to be a competitive product with the Mustang, but apparently the koolaid drinkers bought one and no one else wants one.

    Malibore sales are not impressive – after losing sales for years, this lima bean shaped thing is merely getting those sales back – there is no growth here.

    Snuze – supposedly the new cramped product was going to do something in sales. Well, it isn’t. It is losing traction.

    You can spin this bad news anyway you want, but the fact remains that Total Recall Motors is consistently less profitable per vehicle sold than Ford. And while TRM is crowing about ATP, Ford upped theirs which was consistently higher than TRM’s over the past five years.

    Reply

    1. Are you upset that your “Found On the Road Dead” Escape is in the shop again for another recall you failed to take in while wasting time spewing bullshit on these forums that does not make any sense with your ridiculous bias garbage? Go back to the hole you came from, you troll.

      Reply

    2. I’ve noticed the gradual cheapening of GM’s products over the last few years. For instance, on a base Malibu or Cruze, the antenna cover is flat black plastic vs. being painted before. Same goes for the lower fascia on that car. Factor in the frame rust starting on Silverados, Sierras, Suburbans, Tahoes, Yukons, Escalades before they even leave the lot (they are wax dipped vs. powder coated), and its easy to see – among other reasons – why sales are down. If they’re cutting corners on the obvious, what are they doing to parts you can’t see? But all of that, in my opinion, is just a small part of why sales are lagging.

      GM has also slashed pricing on the 4G LTE wifi. Something tells me they aren’t selling as much data as they would like to, which goes to show that while in-car wifi is a neat concept – and no doubt of value to some people – for the majority, its just a marketing gimmick.

      Reply

      1. At least they did not cheap out on the bed floors. Careful not to drop a tool box or even a stroller you might puncture the bed.

        Actually the sat Antennas are still color coded to the new Bu and Cruze.

        The GM coatings have been in use for over 20 years and never been an issue. Fords painted frames are no any less rust resistant. Both frames last as long or longer than the trucks remain on the road.

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      2. Yeah the frames are bad now, take a tail light out of say a 2011 and look at the rusting on the boxes too. If your getting oil spray make sure to have them take the tail light out and spray, then you’ll be fine.

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    3. I’m not arguing about what you are saying about Cadillac…but have you looked at Lincoln or Lexus’s styling, YIKES!!

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  8. Good to see Cadillac had a decent positive month. The XT5 is doing well and should do better as they ramp up production to full capacity in the coming months.

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  9. The excuse that GM has cut back retail fleet sales is a lame excuse. If you make a dollar on a sale it is a good sale no matter what kind of sale it is. The bragging that you are more profit per sale is good but it has a double edge sword, Residual value. If you can’t get that residual value up the customer will turn on you because he takes the hit. Let’s see what happens in the next six months.

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    1. It is far from lame. You have things backwards here.

      It is because of a flood of fleet vehicles residual values tank for owners. Hence the reason GM is cutting back and using out going models for fleet sales as to build residual value.

      GM for a long time relied on fleet sales to dispose of cars they had to build. Yes had to build as with many of the pre bail out contracts it was cheaper to keep a plant open than to close it as GM would still have to pay the UAW workers no matter if they worked or not.

      In the long term they continued to build cars as it lost money but they lost less money as they spiraled to the bail out.

      Today they have new contracts and do not have this issue and can pick and choose carefully the models they sell and to protect buyers from low resale value.

      I took a major hit on a GP because GM flooded the market with fleet sales to rental fleets. The only thing that saved me was I had a GTP that was not part of the fleet sales and help retain a little more value.

      Today GM has used the Captiva to sell to fleets and it has help save the Nox and Terrain as they both enjoy much higher resale values today.

      So no a sale is not always a good sale as there may be a price to pay elsewhere for resale or in some cases no profits as documented in the past.

      The key is to work smarter not harder.

      To make money today product planning, ATP and controlling volumes globally to needed levels are key to the future. Depending on the model the supply and demand can require different things. Lower demand vehicles that sell 25K units per year do not need to be sold at 50K units per year or you will kill future sales. You must balance supply and keep people coming back as Mazda does on the Miata.

      As for trucks you can pretty much run the table and build all you can as you will sell them all.

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      1. Sorry it’s a LAME excuse when you continue,to use it for the last couple of sales reports. It appears that there is more to the story

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        1. Sorry but it is what it is. I can’t change the truth to fit your bias.

          You don’t see Honda, Toyota and VW fleeting out every or many models do you.

          Fleeting to often is a sign of a weak company that is either unloading unsold cars or a way to unload a lot of trucks they would not sell otherwise and are willing to take a hit just for volume.

          Not a lame excuse just the way it happenes in the industry.

          GM used to unload on the fleets the unsold cars they had to build to keep plants open. It was wrong then and it is wrong now for a stable company to do.

          If you are so smart then tell me how it is a good move to unload a ton of fleet sales on the market and how do you explain the lost resale to your customers?

          Selling cars on Fleet and on incentives are like Heroin. Easy to get hooked on and hard to get off of. Once you get new product out you will have some numbers that may not look as well but in the end you will be much better off going though the tough times and be a much stronger company in the end.

          Like you said there is a lot more to this, But it is more than just percentages and volume.

          Like the sales percentages at Cadillac. if you look at the percentage 5% that sounds bad but if you put it into perspective in their volume of cars that is a couple hundred cars. A percentage at Cadillac is not the same value as it would be with a volume brand like Ford or Chevy.

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    2. GM has the right idea in reducing fleet/rental sales. GM residual values are on the low end of the industry which hurts them from a leasing perspective and influences retail buying decisions.

      The strategy will have benefits long term.

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  10. Despite comments to the contrary, I will say, everything I’ve seen on “appointment viewing” (NBA Finals, etc.) for GMC and Buick have all included an incentive. Same happened during the NCAA with Buick’s Sweet 16 deal –

    Yes, incentives are part of the business, but sell-messages in, say, NBA game 7 – doesn’t say premium.
    Brand during the game, cut-downs in after-game coverage.

    And, it’d be interesting to see the investment in a Super Bowl commercial (talent payments + production costs + media costs, vs sales) – for Cascada? 755 sold in convertible weather?

    I’d like to see the spin on those numbers. Buick, after a comeback, is now kinda like Ralph Lauren “Chaps” line.

    And if Trump gets elected, good luck w South Korea, and China, and Poland.

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  11. I do think the main Camaro issue is styling. It’s not ugly but it looks barely different from the 2014 MCE. The interior is a tad on the cartoonish side still too. It’s really hard to tell it’s a new car. Why pay 40 grand for a new car when you could get the previous model generation/year for nearly half the price now and hardly anyone would know the difference.

    I just really wish the Camaro would have had the Avista styling for the Gen 6 debut. As soon as I saw the Avista I saw a modern Gen 2 split bumper Camaro with Buick badging. If they put the Avista sheet metal on the Camaro for an MCE to coincide with the upcoming Mustang’s MCE, I will buy one. I still think they could try to tie in the current model to the IROC-Z because of it’s sport tuned abilities to get sales up. Ultimately though, the Avista design would have been the proper styling to launch a new generation. It was a modern split bumper and hugely popular with everyone who saw it. It would have propelled the Camaro nameplate into the future full throttle.

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    1. It would be VERY interesting to see if GM updates the Camaro with Avista styling. Doesn’t have to be a copycat with a bowtie emblem, but it would probably be a good sized hit sales wise compared to the MCE styling of the current car.

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      1. Not going to happen as the Avista is not a real production car. If anyone gets it Buick would and it would have some major changes like a B pillar, smaller wheels and other needs that need met to make it into production.

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        1. It seems that sports coupes aren’t setting the world on fire as far as sales. The Camaro has brand equity. Trying to introduce the Buick Avista sports coupe to the masses could be a fool’s errand. GM is doing a lousy / non-existent job at marketing the new Camaro in the first place.

          Don’t get me wrong. If the Avista is introduced as a Buick, that would be fine with me. Just might make more sense to make it into a Camaro. But GM might think it’s not worth it to make it production ready (as either a Buick or Camaro).

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    2. Unfortunately the Avista will not make it to production. Why? Simple, not enough interest in this type of car in China.

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  12. Looks like the CT6 had a very good month and does not seem to interfere with the CTS which is a good thing. Sales of the XTS is down which is expected and while the XTS is a good to very good car (depending on engine choice), it is not on the same level like the CT6 which the new car is light years ahead of the competition.

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  13. I love that the Chevy Equinox regains its position as GM’s second best selling vehicle (after the Silverado). Next year we shall see the new Equinox/ Terrain CUV and we hope sales stay the same or even improve. BTW, this year Chevy will begin selling the 2017 Bolt EV, a new vehicle that everyone (including Elon Musk of Tesla Motors) is expecting, and will be the GM foothold of the all-electric vehicles (no range extender needed) in the national market.

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  14. the camaro needs an all new design and for God sake get rid of the ugly thick A-pillars and ridiculous high beltline….the XT5 exterior looks fat and hideous…GM get rid of all the fat pillars and hideous designs.

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  15. The “Lack of availability” excuse simply doesn’t work any longer, at least not in my neighborhood. I checked new Camaro’s within a 50 mile radius and…………390 units! Even if 90 of those are “in transit”, 300 cars is plenty to choose from. Expanding the search area to a 150 mile radius? Over 1200 units! The harsh reality at this point is the cars are setting around and yet another alpha platform car is a big disappointment with regard to sales performance. With GM’s insistence that rental fleet sales are bad, it appears likely that Lansing-Grand River will see reduced schedules and cut backs yet again.

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    1. I blame GMs shitty marketing for these shit sales of the alpha cars. the general public has no idea there is a new Camaro, and I bet people would find interest to hear 455 hp and 28 mpg in the same sentence. same with Cadillac ats and cts, solid cars with very little marketing, just boring commercials with no emphasis on the cars engineering or performance

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  16. Just picked up a red ’16 CTS at the end of June, and I have to say it’s among the best looking and comfortable cars I’ve ever owned. I’m surprised they don’t sell better…

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    1. shitty shitty marketing is a big blame for the shitty sales at Cadillac. the CTS is a great car. GM isn’t working hard enough to market them better.

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