General Motors today reported a 10.9 percent year-over-year jump in sales to 245,256 units. Retail sales were up 14 percent on a year-over-year basis and fleet sales increased 3 percent.
With 177,943 units sold, Chevrolet saw a 10.2 increase compared to May of 2011 and is launching the four-cylinder (non-Eco) Malibu this summer along with the Spark city car; Buick was up 19.2 percent to 18,565 units and GMC was up 19.3 percent to 38,877.
The only exception to the across-the-board sales boost was Cadillac, with 9,871 units sold and a 15.1 percent year-over-year decrease. However, the Wreath and Crest brand is launching the XTS and ATS this summer, which are bound to result in a sales uptick.
Here is GM Authority’s world-famous By The Numbers sales breakdown by GM brand and model:
Not a bad month for GM, but Caddy’s poor showing is troublesome. The new ATS and XTS can’t come fast enough.
Awhile back there were rumors (I don’t remember from where) that Buick’s May sales would be a disastrous 16% in the red, but that obviously proved to be false, thank goodness.
Also, I’m seeing that Toyota and Chrysler’s numbers are WAY up–no doubt because they had fallen so low during the past year or so, that ANY level of reasonbale sales would quickly boost the numbers in a big way.
Even though Cadillac had a bad month, you have to take in to account that almost half half of their lineup is dead and dying right now. When the DTS, STS, and XLR are gone, and the ATS and XTS are in, I think sales should increase dramatically.
Spot on. And considering that the all-new and much more competitive CTS will come about a year after the ATS, they should be rocking and rolling within a year’s time.
I think they cut back on fleets for the Regal, plus the Verano is likely stealing some sales on price, but I agree the Regal needs a V6. The 3.6 puts out way more hp and torque than the turbo Regal with nearly identical fuel economy.
That’s the “weird” part about the Regal — it’s a mid-sizer that fills a narrow gap between the compact Verano and the (larger than) midsize LaCrosse. My gut tells me that most of the market would opt for the Verano or LaCrosse, while only some would be interested in the Regal. In other words, the Regal’s potential is limited by a crowded lineup.
Here’s the way I would solve this mild predicament: move the LaCrosse up to become a full-size sedan. Stretch the wheel base, making the overall length over 200 inches. Now, you have a clear lineup with significant value at each model:
The Cruze desperatly needs MCE, it`s 4 years old anyway. And with no performace version of any kind ( think about the Mopar Dart ), and one bodystyle the sales numbers won`t get better.
Every single vehicle in the class (except for the Camry and Accord) are no longer offering a V6… and the only reason Toyota and Honda are still stuck with sixes is because they have no good turbo-charged plants to offer at this time.
I would say that the era of V6-powered midsizers is over — at least when it comes to mainstream vehicles (may be different with luxury cars). Also, given that only a small fraction of total mainstream midsize sedan buyers opt for the up-level engine, I would say that even if a V6 were a pre-requisite, overall Malibu sales wouldn’t be in danger. I’m most interested in the performance of the 2.5 Malibu versus its closest “base engine” midsize competitors.
Good question. I don’t know if Nissan even has a 2.0T it could use/could have used in the Altima. So it may’ve been less of a choice and more of a necessity to use the V6…
I think there is a market for midsize fwd V6. Will not be huge. I just got use to the idea of no V8. It’s to soon to give up the V6. What were the results of the poll is Chevy making a mistake by not offering a V6?
I know what you mean by just getting used to the going away of V8s. The way I think about it, though, is that this new wave of turbocharged DI 4 bangers is power efficient and light, the latter making the driving experience more fun. But I know what you mean, nonetheless.
Let me look up the poll results when I get back in front of a computer.
I keep on saying! GM reacts to damn slow, and I want this message to travel all the way to the product line managers. Look! Ford put an all new engine in the Mustang, which improved the cars image dramatically. In contrast, GM began the ZR-1 and the ZO6 with the same engine output and have never increase those numbers to counteract the competition. Giving a car an optional paint job does not says a thing.
GM for goodness sake, not just with the sports cars but with every vehicle that you produce, give every one a midlife update. Not just different panels, but those innovative engine (power & performance) updates to maintain interest or stabilize sales throughout the product life cycle.
Again this is simple. watch the competition and react accordingly for every vehicle you produce. Remember, by not reacting to your competitors, will always result in decreasing sales, while the competition reaps the benifits.
I think Cruze sales are down probably due to the fire. But then again a friend of mine works at a Chevy dealer and he says that Cruze are flying off the lot. Of course the Mustang is the sales champ this month of their freakin incentives duh!!! Camry is just always the midsize sales king because not everybody cares about looks (They just want FE even though Altima and Malibu achieve higher MPG than a standard Camry. Reliability would be part of that). But I would like to know for the fullsize crossovers though since i only know about the Explorer(I really don’t know whats great about them besides the MyFord Touch), Lambdas, Flexes, MKT, but then what about the Pilots and Highlanders??
On this particular topic about 4 bangers, I think that GM needs to spread the DI 2.0t, 1.6t (latest turbo 4) and upgrade the 1.4 to DI status with its turbo, to all FWD cars that GM sells. Example, as I previously said, the cruze and the sonic needs more power while maintaining those giood mpg numbers.
Hence, target Hyuindai by matching their power output (mpg also) in all their comparitive 4 cylinder models, and even beat them to gain that required hype in the market. I also think that GM should introduce 7-speed auto for FWD models and take and industry lead by offering 9-speed for RWD vehicles.
Reason! Its simple. Toyota introduce that 8-speed some years ago in the Lexus IS-F, now others, even Hyundai have caught up. Bottom line Toyota is still in the mix of things because it set the trend fiirst. So GM must stop Playiing catch-up and set the trend in technological and engineering for product development.
Look GM, when you surge ahead, others must catch-up, hence by the time they get there, you are ready to move ahead again to make good of first mover market gains. Now just try it fellas.
Alex this is how i would fix the buick product line. Keep the verano on thee delta compact platform. Move the regal to the lightweight and performance tuned rwd alpha platform. I would keep the lacrosse on the epsilon platform. Then ibwould add a proper full size luxury cruiser based on the rumored omega platform cadillac is working on. This would also help spread out the costs of this premium platform. I believe this set up would serve as a proper competitor to lexus while cadillac could focus on the germans! Not to mention the high profit margins this would make for gm!
Blown away that the V6 is being abandoned, so many of us prefer a V6… Bottom line GM Needs to prioritize some cars for V6 power, Regal being one of them… How is it fairly recently I could get a V6 in an Saturn Aura but now I can’t get one in a Regal, makes no sense…
Comments
Not a bad month for GM, but Caddy’s poor showing is troublesome. The new ATS and XTS can’t come fast enough.
Awhile back there were rumors (I don’t remember from where) that Buick’s May sales would be a disastrous 16% in the red, but that obviously proved to be false, thank goodness.
Also, I’m seeing that Toyota and Chrysler’s numbers are WAY up–no doubt because they had fallen so low during the past year or so, that ANY level of reasonbale sales would quickly boost the numbers in a big way.
What does YTD mean? Sorry I feel pretty stupid asking this…
YTD stands for Year to date, I believe.
Alright thanks for clarifying
Even though Cadillac had a bad month, you have to take in to account that almost half half of their lineup is dead and dying right now. When the DTS, STS, and XLR are gone, and the ATS and XTS are in, I think sales should increase dramatically.
Spot on. And considering that the all-new and much more competitive CTS will come about a year after the ATS, they should be rocking and rolling within a year’s time.
Yeah, then again why we just have to wait for some nice stuff out of GM?
A couple of surprises: Cruze sales are down substantially and the Regal figures are shockingly bad.
The drop in the Regal just screams “I need a V6”; mind blowing that this vehicle does not have a V6…
I think they cut back on fleets for the Regal, plus the Verano is likely stealing some sales on price, but I agree the Regal needs a V6. The 3.6 puts out way more hp and torque than the turbo Regal with nearly identical fuel economy.
That’s the “weird” part about the Regal — it’s a mid-sizer that fills a narrow gap between the compact Verano and the (larger than) midsize LaCrosse. My gut tells me that most of the market would opt for the Verano or LaCrosse, while only some would be interested in the Regal. In other words, the Regal’s potential is limited by a crowded lineup.
Here’s the way I would solve this mild predicament: move the LaCrosse up to become a full-size sedan. Stretch the wheel base, making the overall length over 200 inches. Now, you have a clear lineup with significant value at each model:
Compact -Verano
Midsize – Regal
Full-Size – LaCrosse
And offer a V6, too. 🙂
The Cruze desperatly needs MCE, it`s 4 years old anyway. And with no performace version of any kind ( think about the Mopar Dart ), and one bodystyle the sales numbers won`t get better.
The ancient Mustang outsold a much newer and independent suspension Camaro!
You can thank heavy incentives for the outgoing 2012 model and the updated 2013 model for that.
And the Malibu needs the LFX b4 it’s sales go to hell. Don’t wait till it becomes the next regal.
Every single vehicle in the class (except for the Camry and Accord) are no longer offering a V6… and the only reason Toyota and Honda are still stuck with sixes is because they have no good turbo-charged plants to offer at this time.
I would say that the era of V6-powered midsizers is over — at least when it comes to mainstream vehicles (may be different with luxury cars). Also, given that only a small fraction of total mainstream midsize sedan buyers opt for the up-level engine, I would say that even if a V6 were a pre-requisite, overall Malibu sales wouldn’t be in danger. I’m most interested in the performance of the 2.5 Malibu versus its closest “base engine” midsize competitors.
What about Nissan altima and it’s evil twin Maxima just about the same size and weight as the Malbiu with a V6. Evil twin is ment as a complement.
Good question. I don’t know if Nissan even has a 2.0T it could use/could have used in the Altima. So it may’ve been less of a choice and more of a necessity to use the V6…
I think there is a market for midsize fwd V6. Will not be huge. I just got use to the idea of no V8. It’s to soon to give up the V6. What were the results of the poll is Chevy making a mistake by not offering a V6?
I know what you mean by just getting used to the going away of V8s. The way I think about it, though, is that this new wave of turbocharged DI 4 bangers is power efficient and light, the latter making the driving experience more fun. But I know what you mean, nonetheless.
Let me look up the poll results when I get back in front of a computer.
I keep on saying! GM reacts to damn slow, and I want this message to travel all the way to the product line managers. Look! Ford put an all new engine in the Mustang, which improved the cars image dramatically. In contrast, GM began the ZR-1 and the ZO6 with the same engine output and have never increase those numbers to counteract the competition. Giving a car an optional paint job does not says a thing.
GM for goodness sake, not just with the sports cars but with every vehicle that you produce, give every one a midlife update. Not just different panels, but those innovative engine (power & performance) updates to maintain interest or stabilize sales throughout the product life cycle.
Again this is simple. watch the competition and react accordingly for every vehicle you produce. Remember, by not reacting to your competitors, will always result in decreasing sales, while the competition reaps the benifits.
I think Cruze sales are down probably due to the fire. But then again a friend of mine works at a Chevy dealer and he says that Cruze are flying off the lot. Of course the Mustang is the sales champ this month of their freakin incentives duh!!! Camry is just always the midsize sales king because not everybody cares about looks (They just want FE even though Altima and Malibu achieve higher MPG than a standard Camry. Reliability would be part of that). But I would like to know for the fullsize crossovers though since i only know about the Explorer(I really don’t know whats great about them besides the MyFord Touch), Lambdas, Flexes, MKT, but then what about the Pilots and Highlanders??
On this particular topic about 4 bangers, I think that GM needs to spread the DI 2.0t, 1.6t (latest turbo 4) and upgrade the 1.4 to DI status with its turbo, to all FWD cars that GM sells. Example, as I previously said, the cruze and the sonic needs more power while maintaining those giood mpg numbers.
Hence, target Hyuindai by matching their power output (mpg also) in all their comparitive 4 cylinder models, and even beat them to gain that required hype in the market. I also think that GM should introduce 7-speed auto for FWD models and take and industry lead by offering 9-speed for RWD vehicles.
Reason! Its simple. Toyota introduce that 8-speed some years ago in the Lexus IS-F, now others, even Hyundai have caught up. Bottom line Toyota is still in the mix of things because it set the trend fiirst. So GM must stop Playiing catch-up and set the trend in technological and engineering for product development.
Look GM, when you surge ahead, others must catch-up, hence by the time they get there, you are ready to move ahead again to make good of first mover market gains. Now just try it fellas.
Alex this is how i would fix the buick product line. Keep the verano on thee delta compact platform. Move the regal to the lightweight and performance tuned rwd alpha platform. I would keep the lacrosse on the epsilon platform. Then ibwould add a proper full size luxury cruiser based on the rumored omega platform cadillac is working on. This would also help spread out the costs of this premium platform. I believe this set up would serve as a proper competitor to lexus while cadillac could focus on the germans! Not to mention the high profit margins this would make for gm!
Blown away that the V6 is being abandoned, so many of us prefer a V6… Bottom line GM Needs to prioritize some cars for V6 power, Regal being one of them… How is it fairly recently I could get a V6 in an Saturn Aura but now I can’t get one in a Regal, makes no sense…