GMC Sierra Sales Decrease 2 Percent To 40,546 Units In Q1 2019

GMC Sierra sales decreased in the United States and increased in Mexico during the first quarter of 2019.

GMC Sierra Sales - Q1 2019 - United States

In the United States, GMC Sierra deliveries totaled 40,546 units in Q1 2019, a decrease of about 2 percent compared to 41,468 units sold in Q1 2018.

GMC Sierra Sales - Q1 2019 - Canada

In Canada, GMC Sierra deliveries totaled 11,308 units in Q1 2019, a decrease of about 8 percent compared to 12,230 units sold in Q1 2018.

GMC Sierra Sales - Q1 2019 - Mexico

In Mexico, GMC Sierra deliveries totaled 333 units in Q1 2019, an increase of about 30 percent compared to 257 units sold in Q1 2018.

Competitive Sales Comparison

First-quarter 2019 GMC Sierra sales place the full-size pickup truck in fourth place in its competitive set. The slight 2 percent decline in GMC Sierra sales during the quarter was on par with the segment, as the full-size pickup truck segment contracted an average of two percent during the quarter.

Sales Numbers - Full-Size Mainstream Pickup Trucks - Q1 2019 - USA

The results place the Sierra behind the Ford F-Series (see Ford F-series sales) in first place (by a wide margin of over 170,000 units), as well as the Ram Pickup (see Ram Pickup sales) in second place and the Sierra’s own corporate cousin – the Chevy Silverado (see Chevy Silverado sales) in third place. Meanwhile, the Sierra finished ahead of other segment contenders, including the Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan.

The Sierra managed to maintain 8 percent segment share during the first quarter, compared to a lofty 41 percent by the F-Series, 22 percent segment share by the Silverado, and 23 percent by the Ram Pickup. Meanwhile, the Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan held 5 and 2 percent, respectively.

The full-size pickup truck segment contracted an average of 2 percent to 524,729 units in Q1 2019.

We are providing Honda Ridgeline sales below for informational purposes, since the model straddles the midsize and full-size pickup truck segments.

Sales Numbers - Honda Ridgeline - Q1 2019 - USA

The GM Authority Take

Similar to Silverado sales during Q1 2019, GMC Sierra sales were impeded during the first quarter of 2019 by limited availability. The all-new Sierra 1500 was nowhere close to being fully-available during the first quarter. Specifically, availability of all-new Regular Cab and Double Cab Sierra models were extremely limited during the quarter due to launch production. Full production of all cab styles started in March, which means that these vehicles only started trickling into dealers during the final week of the first quarter, and in full force during the second quarter. By comparison, the Ram Pickup is running at full availability, as it launched prior to the all-new Sierra.

For its part, GM said that both the 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 and 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 are off to a very strong start during its first-quarter sales call. “Our production launch was very smooth and crew cab sales are brisk, especially those with premium trims,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president, Sales Operations. “We look forward to improving availability of our wide-range of cabs, trim series and powertrains.”

In addition to limited availability, GMC also offered very limited incentives on the Sierra during the first quarter. GMC Sierra discounts in Q1 2019 were restricted exclusively to SLT models, and were less than half of the amount discounted from the K2 Sierra models. In comparison, Ram was offering up to $18,000 off Ram Classic trucks (the last-generation Ram models) in some markets during the first quarter. GMC has since more than doubled its incentive offers for the T1 Sierra, discounting SLT models by $9,500 in June.

We should also mention questionable sales tactics that Ram’s parent firm, FCA, orchestrated during the first quarter. The automaker placed 553 units of the Ram 1500 Classic into courtesy transportation fleets, which are provided to service customers as loaners at dealers. Doing so counts those 553 units as new retail sales. The pickups will work a few thousand miles and will then be offloaded as used cars.

So, the Ford F-Series remained in its place as the segment best-seller during Q1 2019, without playing any games. GMC Sierra sales volumes decreased as a result of launch timing, and the Ram – not facing any availability issues since it launched earlier than the Sierra – discounted its way into second place. The fanboys will cry foul that these are excuses, but anyone with some business acumen would easily comprehend the scenario at face value.

So, our expectation is that second-quarter GMC Sierra sales will be slightly better than those during the first quarter due to better availability in Q2, and that both trucks will hit their stride from a sales volume standpoint in the third quarter as a result of full availability.

• Reporting by Frankie Cruz
• Analysis by Alex Luft