General Motors Optimistic About U.S. Sales In 2017 Calendar Year

General Motors is quite optimistic about its U.S. performance in 2017 for three primary reasons: a steady and strong economy, continuous operating discipline, as well as the fact that four of its brands are dramatically expanding their product offerings in fast-growing crossover segments. The items were pointed out during the GM January 2017 sales call.

Steady And Strong Economy

Thanks to a steady and strong U.S. economy, GM expects industry sales to remain at or near record levels. Due to these factors, the automaker expects that it will garner higher retail sales and market share on a year-over-year basis.

Operating Discipline

GM expects deliveries to daily rental companies to decline as a percentage of total sales for the third year in a row. In addition, The General will continue to match production with customer demand. Previously-announced plans to reduce passenger car production at plants in Lordstown, Ohio and Lansing, Michigan were implemented at the end of January. This kind of operating discipline, which was established by the “New GM” after the 2009 bankruptcy of the “Old GM” that didn’t excel at matching vehicle demand with supply, will help drive continued improvements in the health of GM’s brands and vehicle resale values.

The results can already be seen with the following notable accomplishments: in January, IHS Markit announced that GM had the highest overall loyalty to a manufacturer for the second year in a row. In addition, Kelley Blue Book gave seven Chevrolet and GMC vehicles awards for outstanding resale value, which is more than any other manufacturer. In 2016, GM’s was the industry’s fastest-growing full-line automaker on a retail sales basis, and Chevrolet has been the fastest-growing full-line brand for two consecutive years on a retail basis. In fact, Chevrolet grew retail market share in 2015-2016 by almost one full percentage point, which translates to more than 120,000 incremental sales.

“Our go-to-market strategy in 2017 is the same as 2016,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of Sales OperationsMcNeil said. “We are focused on strengthening our brands, growing retail sales and share, reducing daily rental deliveries and maintaining our operating discipline.”

Expanding Crossover Portfolio

GM’s ten all-new or recently-redesigned crossovers are expected to drive 2017 sales results. These include two new compact models — the new Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain — that will compete in the industry’s largest segment.

GM’s crossover efforts by brand for the 2017 calendar year include:

• Chevrolet will have the industry’s broadest and freshest lineup of utility vehicles, starting with the 238-mile range Chevy Bolt EV, all-new 2018 Chevy Equinox, which will arrive in showrooms in the first quarter of the year, as well as the all-new 2018 Chevy Traverse, which arrives this summer.
• At Buick, crossovers are expected to account for as much as 75 percent of retail deliveries, up from 66 percent in 2016, driven by the Encore, Envision and Enclave.
• GMC, which has the highest average transaction prices of any non-luxury brand, will launch the all-new 2018 GMC Terrain in late summer. It will complement the redesigned GMC Acadia, which went on sale in late summer 2016.
• Cadillac will benefit from a full year of production of the new Cadillac XT5 crossover, which is now the second best-selling vehicle in its segment. The onslaught of new Cadillac crossovers, however, will not arrive for 2017, but will instead begin to arrive in calendar year 2018.

General Motors saw cumulative sales decrease 3.8 percent to 195,909 new vehicles in January 2017. Retail sales decreased 4.9 percent or 8,045 vehicles to 163,055 units, accounting for 79.1 percent of total sales, while Average Transaction Prices rose $1,200 per unit to $34,500, therein setting a new January record.