General Motors can look back at 2011 in a positive light, as the company managed to cap the year off with a 4.5 percent sales gain for the month of December in the U.S. market. The growth also contributed to a 13.7 percent gain for the entire year, with a 17.6 percent gain in overall retail sales. Those numbers translate to 234,351 vehicle sales for the month of December, and a healthy 2,503,820 sales through 2011.
Buick Trips In December, Still Finishes Strong
The Tri-Shield brand took a 12.4 percent dive in the month of December 2011, selling 14,974 units. When breaking down the numbers, the discontinued Lucerne was a major contributor to the monthly sales drop, which accounted for 2,262 sales a year ago and a mere 712 this year. However, the compact Verano is expected to make up that lost ground. In total, the best selling car for Buick in 2011 was the LaCrosse, selling 58,474 units — barely edging the Enclave, which sold 58,392 units. In total, Buick accounted for 177,633 total sales in 2011, growing 14.3 percent compared to 2010.
Cadillac Takes A Steady Dip In December, Finishes With A Steady Gain
The Wreath and Crest has been struggling to stay in the green ever since the kibosh of the DTS and STS sedans, finishing December 2.7 percent in the red, and selling 16,259 units. On an annual level, Caddy posted a 3.7 percent gain for 2011, selling 152,389 units. The SRX was the brand’s best selling model overall, posting 56,905 total sales, just above the 55,042 CTS sales. Our crystal ball predicts a stronger 2012 as the brand’s portfolio expands by at least two with the arrival of the compact ATS and larger XTS.
Chevrolet Climbs 8.9% In December, Even Higher Through 2011
The Bowtie brand capped off its centennial year with a healthy 8.9 percent gain though the month of December 2011, selling 161,158 vehicles for the month. Even better is the 1,775,812 total sales for the year, translating to a 13.4 percent gain overall. Predictably, the Silverado was once again Chevy’s best selling model, and the best selling model from GM overall, selling a lofty 415,130 units through the year. Second was the Cruze, with 231,732 total sales. Sales of the Volt picked up momentum as well, selling 1,529 units for the month, totaling 7,671 unit sales on the year.
GMC Dips A Stale Half-Percent, But Posts A Robust Year Overall
Big Red may have finished the year on an anticlimactic note, but still managed a 18.8 gain through the 2011 calender year. The brand managed 41,960 for the month, and a healthy 397,986 unit sales for the year. The Sierra was by far and away the brand’s breadwinner, totalling 149,170 unit sales in 2011. The Terrain finished a distant second with 83,179 sales.
Comments
Just wonder what GM`s gonna do to keep Buick momentum that has shown to be slowing down recently…
2012- Verano, Encore
2013- Enclave Redesign
2014- Midsize CUV
2015- Lacrosee Redesign
2016- Regal Redesign or regal outphased and new midsize sedan introduced
2017- Cycle starts over
There will probably additions like Regal GS, Verano hatch, and other unpredicdatable events throughout these years. Also keep in mind that any brand cannot be expected to expand as rapidly as Buick has indefinately, growth must stabilize in the low single digits at some point, that is not a bad thing, as Buick is not a volume brand, but a sort of niche luxury player who should focus more on their cars rather than increasing sales.
If buick isn`t a volume brand that`s OK, but they desperatly need at least the La Crosse`s major facelift to keep up with the upcoming Lexus