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General Motors U.S. Sales Up 4 Percent To 231,378 Vehicles In February 2015

General Motors U.S. dealers delivered 231,378 new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles in February 2015, an increase of 4 percent compared to February 2014.

“Our new SUVs and crossovers, combined with the three-pickup strategy we outlined more than a year ago, are dovetailing perfectly with the growing U.S. economy and a stronger job market,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of Sales Operations.

GM’s pickup truck lineup is performing really well in the market, with the Colorado being the industry’s fastest-selling pickup. According to J.D. Power PIN data, the average Chevrolet Colorado – Motor Trend magazine’s unanimous choice for 2015 Truck of the Year – spends just 15 days in dealer stock from the day it arrives on the showroom floor.

“Six months into its launch, the Chevrolet Colorado is the industry’s fastest-selling pickup, regardless of brand or model year,” McNeil added. “The Silverado had another great month, with sales, market share and average transaction prices up sharply. And when you add the GMC Sierra and Canyon to the mix, GM’s year-over-year pickup deliveries increased 37 percent. That follows January’s 42 percent increase and December’s 43 percent increase.”

J.D. Power PIN also estimates that the Chevrolet Silverado’s retail market share in the full-size pickup segment was 27.2 percent in February, up 1.5 percentage points from a year ago, at the expense of Ford’s F-Series and FCA’s Ram. Average transaction prices rose by almost $1,700 per unit from a year ago.

February sales highlights (vs. February 2014, except as noted):

  • Retail sales were up 1 percent
  • Commercial and fleet deliveries were up 12 percent
  • Chevrolet sales grew 3.8 percent to 159,788 units, marking the brand’s best February since 2008
    • Silverado sales were up 24 percent to 45,395 units, its best February since 2007
    • Traverse sales were up 28 percent to 9,705 units
    • Tahoe sales were up 49 percent to 7,410 units
    • Suburban sales were up 118 percent to 4,436 units
    • Spark sales were up 3.8 percent to 2,674 units
    • Equinox sales were up 0.6 percent to 21,723 units
    • Corvette sales were up 6.8 percent to 2,605 units
    • Camaro sales were p 2.6 percent to 6,373 units
    • Trax sold 3,821 units
    • Colorado sold 6,563 units
    • All other Chevy models posted year-over-year sales drops
  • GMC sales grew 19.3 percent to 42,433 units, its best February since 2002
    • All GMC models except for the Savana posted year-over-year sales gains
    • Acadia sales were up 4.1 percent to 7,061 units
    • Sierra, which has the highest average transaction prices of any pickup line in the industry, was up 6.5 percent to 15,157 units
    • Terrain sales were up 16.8 percent to 10,859 units
    • Yukon sales were up 43.5 percent to 2,796 units
    • Yukon XL sales were up 84.5 percent to 2,048 units
    • Canyon sold 2,513 units
    • The Denali series vehicles now make up 21 percent of all GMC vehicles, up from 18 percent
  • Buick sales were down 9.2 percent to 17,418 units
    • The Encore was the only Buick to post a year-over-year sales gain, recording a 9 percent increase to 4,921 units; it remains the best-selling vehicle in the small crossover segment
  • Cadillac sales were down 12.6 percent to 11,739 units
    • Only the Escalade, Escalade ESV, and ELR posted year-over-year sales gains
    • Escalade was up 92 percent to 1,489 units
    • Escalade ESV was up 80 percent to 888 units
    • ELR was up 119 percent (wham, bam, shazam) to 127 units
    • ATS was down 16.4 percent to 2,028 units
    • CTS was down 43 percent to 1,438 units
    • XTS was down 6.9 percent to 1,960 units
    • The soon-to-be-replaced SRX was down 25 percent to 3,809 units

Average Transaction Prices (ATPs)

ATPs were $34,700, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates through February 22. That’s a $2,700 per unit increase compared to a year ago.

Incentives

Month over month, GM reduced incentive spending as a percentage of ATPs by 0.9 percentage points to 9.7 percent in February, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates. Industry average spending was 9.9 percent of ATPs, up 0.1 points.

Fleet and Commercial

Commercial deliveries were up 35 percent thanks to strong pickup, large SUV and crossover sales. The results represent the 16th consecutive monthly year-over-year increase.

Government deliveries were up 25 percent thanks to strong pickup and SUV sales.

Industry Sales

GM estimates that the seasonally adjusted annual selling rate (SAAR) for light vehicles in February was 16.5 million units.

Based on J.D. Power PIN estimates, trucks, including pickups, SUVs and vans, accounted for 17.3 percent of the retail industry, up 1.6 percentage points. Crossovers, meanwhile, represented 39.2 percent of the market, up 1.2 percentage points. Cars represented 43.5 percent, down 2.8 percentage points.

Sales Results - February 2015 - USA - Chevrolet

MODELFEB 2015 / FEB 2014FEBRUARY 2015FEBRUARY 2014YTD 2015 / YTD 2014YTD 2015YTD 2014
CHEVROLET TOTAL+3.8%159,788153,913+10.9%302,670273,002
CAMARO+2.6%6,3736,211+3.8%11,36410,944
CAPRICE-69.6%98322-57.5%222522
CAPTIVA SPORT-99.7%134,452-99.7%238,217
CITY EXPRESS*6050*1,1900
COLORADO+656200%6,5631+83266.7%12,50515
CORVETTE+6.8%2,6052,438+0.7%4,7324,699
CRUZE-16.2%18,30121,836-4.3%36,99438,664
EQUINOX+0.6%21,72321,587+14.2%41,27836,134
EXPRESS-32.5%3,2224,776-21.5%6,8048,668
IMPALA-24.5%9,06512,008-23.5%18,27923,906
MALIBU-19.9%13,97117,448-11.7%25,84929,270
SILVERADO+24.1%45,39536,584+24.4%81,50165,510
SONIC-61.8%2,9007,586-54.7%6,42114,173
SPARK+3.8%2,6742,576+32.1%5,8444,424
SUBURBAN+118%4,4362,035+129%8,5663,740
SS-24%215283-35.9%330515
TAHOE+49.4%7,4104,961+65.4%14,0178,475
TRAVERSE+28.2%9,7057,573+53.4%19,85612,941
TRAX*3,8210*5,6600
VOLT-42.7%6931,210-42%1,2352,128

Sales Results - February 2015 - USA - Cadillac

MODELFEB 2015 / FEB 2014FEBRUARY 2015FEBRUARY 2014YTD 2015 / YTD 2014YTD 2015YTD 2014
CADILLAC TOTAL-12.6%11,73913,437-5.7%23,41924,823
ATS-16.4%2,0282,427-12.7%3,7854,336
CTS-42.7%1,4382,509-33.9%3,1364,741
ELR+119%12758+121.2%21999
ESCALADE+91.9%1,489776+113%3,1531,480
ESCALADE ESV+79.8%888494+127.2%1,988875
ESCALADE EXT*09-94.1%234
SRX-24.7%3,8095,058-23.3%7,2949,504
XTS-6.9%1,9602,106+2.3%3,8423,754

Sales Results - February 2015 - USA - Buick

MODELFEB 2015 / FEB 2014FEBRUARY 2015FEBRUARY 2014YTD 2015 / YTD 2014YTD 2015YTD 2014
BUICK TOTAL-9.2%17,41819,192-7.7%29,97132,470
ENCLAVE-31.9%3,6205,319-19.4%7,1178,828
ENCORE+59.9%4,9213,078+54%8,3865,444
LACROSSE-9%3,7514,123-17.2%5,7746,972
REGAL-23.2%1,6892,200-31.7%2,4813,634
VERANO-23.1%3,4374,472-18.2%6,2137,592

Sales Results - February 2015 - USA - GMC

MODELFEB 2015 / FEB 2014FEBRUARY 2015FEBRUARY 2014YTD 2015 / YTD 2014YTD 2015YTD 2014
GMC TOTAL+19.3%42,43335,562+23.4%78,10463,295
ACADIA+4.1%7,0616,780+5.8%12,95912,243
CANYON*2,5130+471700%4,7181
SAVANA-8.9%1,9992,194-15.5%3,4884,130
SIERRA+6.5%15,15714,232+9.6%27,77825,350
TERRAIN+16.8%10,8599,297+20.4%19,70316,360
YUKON+43.5%2,7961,949+68.3%5,4453,236
YUKON XL+84.5%2,0481,110+103.2%4,0131,975

Sales Results - February 2015 - USA - GM Total

BRANDFEB 2015 / FEB 2014FEBRUARY 2015FEBRUARY 2014YTD 2015 / YTD 2014YTD 2015YTD 2014
GM US TOTAL+4.2%231,378222,104+10.3%434,164393,590
CHEVROLET+3.8%159,788153,913+10.9%302,670273,002
CADILLAC-12.6%11,73913,437-5.7%23,41924,823
BUICK-9.2%17,41819,192-7.7%29,97132,470
GMC+19.3%42,43335,562+23.4%78,10463,295

About The Charts

  • 24 selling days for February 2015, and 24 for February 2014.
  • Totals contain discontinued Chevrolet Avalanche.

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Comments

  1. I wonder how long GM is going to except the lackluster Cadillac sales performance. Other then the Escalade the rest of the line-up is drowning. This is truly sad since like everyone says Cadillac has the best lineup ever. GM should never increased the prices so quick on the CTS. Should of crept it up some but not as drastic as they did until the next gen CTS came to.

    Reply
    1. They don’t have to “except” anything 😉

      But seriously. The Cadillac sales drop has nothing to do with existing product or its pricing. It has everything to do with brand image and with the fact that Cadillac lacks a wide lineup of crossovers. It also has to do with weaker residuals (for leasing) than the competition. Most luxury car business is lease business.

      But the lack of CUVs is the most disappointing, since that’s the fastest-growing space right now. Cadillac has one lackluster crossover — the SRX. Its XT5 replacement will be better but won’t be a BMW or Mercedes killer by any stretch. By comparison, Mercedes has 5 CUVs and is about to add one more. BMW has 5 and is about to add a sixth. Audi has 3 and is about to add 2-3 more.

      Reply
      1. Well, I don’t think it’s fair to say Cadillac’s sales drop has “nothing” to do with its product or pricing. They’re both clearly not good enough, especially the latter. Cadillac got way ahead of itself, and didn’t have the marketing support nor the product portfolio to justify its strategy. Now with the NYC-led reboot, it’s going to take at least 2-3 years to show real growth, as they don’t have the CUVs (as you mentioned), which is what the market is demanded, nor the right pricing for its products.

        It’s a major screwup by GM (thanks Akerson, for handing mgmt of Cadillac around like a radioactive potato) that Cadillac is biffing it so bad in a market where luxury is such a growing part of the market. CTS sales are downright embarrassing for such a good product. But again, there is a *ton* of very good product out there, so that’s not enough.

        Buick has the marketing, but definitely not the vehicles. Thanks goodness the Envision is coming out in about six months in the US — that will save Buick’s bacon until they can update their other vehicles.

        Reply
        1. You’re right, perhaps product and pricing has more than “nothing” to do with the drop. But it’s not the main cause, which itself is the lack of a strong crossover portfolio.

          To have biffed the product planning to this extent in the face of such wonderful platforms as Alpha and upcoming Omega is a true black eye of Akerson’s as well.

          Reply
    2. I think Cadillac isn’t competitive with leasing due to low residual values. The plan is to produce and sell fewer cars near term to improve residules and rebuild sales from the right levels.

      Reply
    3. Don’t look now, but Buick’s giving Cadillac a run for their money in the race to the bottom.

      Buick’s down more YTD than Cadillac. Without the small CUV Encore, Buick would have zero models in the black.

      Someone must’ve set Buick’s GPS to follow Oldsmobile.

      Reply
  2. BTW, I think the columns are mislabeled. Since these are February results, they should be February 2015 and February 2014, not January. Nor should it be YTD2014 / YTD2013.

    Reply
    1. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Fixed.

      Reply
  3. The Buick marketing campaign is highly over-rates, as reflected by sales. Waiting for the soon docs to say that Buick’s decline would be worse without the pitiful TV spots.
    “That’s not a Buick” reminds me of “Where’s the beef?”, by Wendy’s. The brand does need new product but also a more sexy campaign. Buick is Beautiful, or something along those lines, would do.

    Reply
    1. “That’s not a Buick” reminds me of “Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile”, a campaign that has been widely blamed for the beginning of the end at Olds. Alienating loyalists while failing to attract new ones. The sooner they can break away from it, the better.

      Reply
  4. Folks sorry but there not going to be one big turn around month for Cadillac sales. You are not going to change an entire division in the period of a month or even a year. Also do not expect the CT6 to turn things all by itself either or any of the V series.

    This deal is going to take time and an organized marketing effort that just started what two weeks ago?

    Prices are not going to majorly drop so stop looking for it. Do look for a coherent marketing plan to build on what we just got two weeks ago. They will not just have one theme and one song but it will be structure to build as the division changes and grows.

    But there are several other factors you need to consider here. #1 do the math and really look at the number volume of cars sold not the percentage and you will see in most cases we are not talking a ton of cars. Most months the difference was in a couple hundred cars.

    #2 The cars they are selling outside the ELR are all making a very high profit margin. Cadillac is making more per unit than any other model other than trucks. Think of Cadillac as like GMC. You do not need large volumes to make money here.

    #3 its been damn cold and snowy everywhere east of the Rockies this winter for nearly 3 months. This has not been car buying weather and that has affected most brands out there other then some new models and some very popular models.

    As for Buick the marketing deal was good the first month or two but they too need to expand it beyond this. I like the catch phrase at first but not I loath it. Time to move on beyond this as it is not a Like a Rock moment.

    The two real surprises here are the Camaro still selling well even with a new Camaro coming and a new Mustang out. This is a good sign.

    The other surprise is the weak F 150 sales as it was expected that it would take off being a new model but the pricing may be biting them in the ass. The Fords are cheap if you do not get many options but the option packages are much higher priced now and the true cost of the new trucks has been hidden in the option prices. I had read that was how they were going to deflect the price increase and it appears they have and people are noticing. Trucks are a segment that are very price sensitive due to years of incentives. Now do you understand why GM does not want to train people to expect incentives on Cadillac. The day is coming where they do not want people expecting that so they just have to tough it out for a while as the rest of the company comes together.

    The bottom line with Cadillac is this is a whole division deal and not just one thing is going to fix it. A series of things and time will make the changes and they will come slowly. But slow change is lasting change so that is ok. GM knows this is a long term deal. I just hope that those who are against the change at Cadillac do not try to use this to go against the people who are doing the right but difficult thing. Those who want cheaper cars and discounting are the same folks who supported the Catera. Nuff said.

    By the way Cadillac has 2-3 more SUV and CUV models coming and that will boost volumes. That is what is selling today. Sedans are secondary even at companies like this anymore. They even commented on that on Top Gear this week.

    Reply
  5. Patience with Cadillac, should she recover the lost image for many years, and will be a process that is slow.

    Cadillac is on a wonderful journey, if they continue in this way, become what GM wants to be

    Regards from Spain

    Reply
  6. Express and Savana are taking a dump! Could it be that Its almost a 20 year design and needs to be redesigned at least 5 years ago? GM, do you not notice competition?

    Reply
    1. Actually the new vans are just around the corner. The present ones have been doing well till this year because of the new product that is out. GM has been working on them but needed to redo the trucks first as they sell so many more and then they went to work on the vans.

      Vans are not high profit as most go to fleet sales so not a priority. This is why GM has owned the segment for a long time as Ford fell out with the Econoline a while back.

      Reply
  7. I live in Nashville and can’t find a LT Red Hot 4wd extended cab Colorado with a 3.6l engine in a 1,000 miles radius. I and others would prefer a regular cab, but they decided against it. Any wonder why sales aren’t through the roof?

    Reply
    1. Sales of what aren’t through the roof? They are selling every Colorado they can make, and selling them very quickly. Short of expanding capacity at the existing plant or adding another plant for the Colorado/Canyon, this is the way it will be for a while.

      Reply

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