General Motors sales decreased 2.3 percent during the 2019 calendar year in the United States, a result that was severely impacted by the work stoppage caused by the 40 day-long UAW strike. But what were the best-selling GM models of the year? That’s exactly what we’ve come to find out here.
As it stands, seven Chevys, two GMCs and one Buick comprised GM’s ten best-selling vehicles list:
Top 10 Best-Selling GM Models - 2019 - United States
| MODEL | Q4 19 / Q4 18 | Q4 19 | Q4 18 | Q4 19 SHARE | Q4 18 SHARE | YTD 19 / YTD 18 | YTD 19 | YTD 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHEVROLET SILVERADO | +1.34% | 163,341 | 161,178 | 31% | 30% | -1.70% | 575,600 | 585,581 |
| CHEVROLET EQUINOX | -6.26% | 92,092 | 98,239 | 17% | 18% | +4.04% | 346,048 | 332,618 |
| GMC SIERRA | +2.09% | 68,722 | 67,312 | 13% | 13% | +5.82% | 232,323 | 219,554 |
| CHEVROLET TRAVERSE | -14.94% | 33,631 | 39,536 | 6% | 7% | +0.40% | 147,122 | 146,534 |
| CHEVROLET MALIBU | -7.47% | 34,314 | 37,084 | 6% | 7% | -8.73% | 131,917 | 144,542 |
| CHEVROLET COLORADO | -15.06% | 25,484 | 30,004 | 5% | 6% | -9.30% | 122,304 | 134,842 |
| CHEVROLET TRAX | +47.64% | 33,039 | 22,378 | 6% | 4% | +29.92% | 116,816 | 89,916 |
| BUICK ENCORE | +22.17% | 28,497 | 23,326 | 5% | 4% | +10.02% | 102,402 | 93,073 |
| GMC TERRAIN | -11.19% | 28,060 | 31,595 | 5% | 6% | -11.24% | 101,470 | 114,314 |
| CHEVROLET TAHOE | -14.56% | 21,086 | 24,679 | 4% | 5% | -2.85% | 101,189 | 104,153 |
| TOTAL | -1.32% | 528,266 | 535,331 | +0.61% | 1,977,191 | 1,965,127 |
1. Chevrolet Silverado
The Chevy Silverado was the best-selling GM model in 2019, a tradition that has carried on for roughly a decade. Sales of the pickup truck family fell 1.7 percent to 575,600 units – mostly as a result of the aforementioned UAW strike in the second half of the year along with a strategy to first launch high-content, higher-priced models before lower-priced volume models. Hence, these figures should be higher for the 2020 calendar year, assuming no supply-related disruptions.
The Silverado family is now comprised of three distinct trucks – the Silverado Light Duty (1500), Silverado Heavy Duty (2500HD and 3500HD), plus the Silverado Medium Duty (4500HD, 5500HD, 6500HD). The Light Duty and Medium Duty models were all-new for the 2019 model year, while the Heavy Duty was all-new for the 2020 model year.
2020 Chevrolet Equinox
2. Chevrolet Equinox
The second best-selling GM vehicle was the Chevrolet Equinox. Sales of the compact crossover increased 4 percent to 346,048 units during the year.
2021 Chevrolet Equinox
The Equinox is getting a midcycle enhancement (refresh) for the 2021 model year that includes a revised exterior design, a new RS trim level, and various other changes and updates. The freshened model should launch in the third quarter of 2020. See more on the 2021 Chevrolet Equinox.
3. GMC Sierra
The GMC Sierra was the third best-selling GM model in 2019, accounting for 232,323 units. Like its Chevrolet Silverado corporate cousin, the Sierra 1500 is all-new for the 2019 model year while the Sierra HD is all-new for the 2020 model year.
GM’s launch cadence for the Sierra mirrored that of the Silverado, calling for producing high-end, high-priced models first before introducing lower-end, high-volume models. As such, these figures should be even higher in 2020.
4. Chevrolet Traverse
The Chevrolet Traverse full-size crossover was GM’s fourth best-seller during the year, accounting for 147,122 deliveries. The three-row Traverse is now joined by the smaller Chevy Blazer, which rides on a shorter wheelbase variant of the same architecture.
The Traverse will get a refresh for the 2021 model year, which will include restyled front and rear fascias, plus various other changes and updates. See more on the 2021 Chevrolet Traverse.
5. Chevrolet Malibu
The fifth best-selling GM model in 2019 was the Chevrolet Malibu. The midsize sedan saw sales slip almost 9 percent to 131,917 units, with the downward trend reflecting a shrinking market for sedans.
6. Chevrolet Colorado
The sixth best-seller was the Chevrolet Colorado, with the midsize pickup truck recording a 9 percent slide in sales to 122,304 units. Production capacity of the Colorado, along with its GMC Canyon platform mate, is currently constrained at the GM Wentzville plant, with demand often outstripping supply.
2021 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2
The Colorado is getting a new front fascia and a few other minor updates for the 2021 model year. See more on the 2021 Chevy Colorado.
7. Chevrolet Trax
The seventh best-selling GM model in 2019 was the Chevrolet Trax, with sales jumping 30 percent to 116,816 units. The subcompact crossover’s performance is quite impressive, considering that it is the oldest vehicle in its segment (by a relatively wide margin), facing against much newer and more modern rivals.
Chevrolet Trailblazer
The Trax will soon be joined by the all-new Chevrolet Traiblazer, which will not replace the Trax but rather complement it.
8. Buick Encore
In eighth place was the Buick Encore. The subcompact premium crossover SUV, which shares its Gamma platform with the Chevy Trax, saw sales grow 10 percent to 102,402 units. The Encore will soon get a new family member in the form of the all-new Buick Encore GX.
Buick Encore GX
Much like the Trailblazer, the Encore GX will expand the Buick crossover portfolio, rather than replace the Encore outright.
9. GMC Terrain
The GMC Terrain was the ninth best-selling GM model during 2019, racking up 101,470 sales. The compact crossover will get a midcycle enhancement for the 2021 model year consisting of new front and rear fascias, a new offroad-inspired AT4 trim level, plus various new features and technologies. See more on the 2021 GMC Terrain refresh.
10. Chevrolet Tahoe
The tenth best-selling GM vehicle in 2019 was the Chevrolet Tahoe, which earned 101,189 deliveries. The full-size SUV, believed to be one of the most profitable models for General Motors, will be replaced in a few months’ time by the all-new 2021 Tahoe.
2021 Chevrolet Tahoe
GM’s top ten best-selling models in 2019 accounted for a combined 1,977,191 sales, which represents almost 70 percent of the 2,887,043 vehicles GM sold in the U.S. during the year.
We’ve provided the breakdown of all GM models, in descending order by sales volume, below. Be sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevrolet news, GMC news, Buick news, Cadillac news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
GM Sales - 2019 - United States
| MODEL | Q4 19 / Q4 18 | Q4 19 | Q4 18 | Q4 19 SHARE | Q4 18 SHARE | YTD 19 / YTD 18 | YTD 19 | YTD 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHEVROLET SILVERADO | +1.34% | 163,341 | 161,178 | 22% | 21% | -1.70% | 575,600 | 585,581 |
| CHEVROLET EQUINOX | -6.26% | 92,092 | 98,239 | 13% | 13% | +4.04% | 346,048 | 332,618 |
| GMC SIERRA | +2.09% | 68,722 | 67,312 | 9% | 9% | +5.82% | 232,323 | 219,554 |
| CHEVROLET TRAVERSE | -14.94% | 33,631 | 39,536 | 5% | 5% | +0.40% | 147,122 | 146,534 |
| CHEVROLET MALIBU | -7.47% | 34,314 | 37,084 | 5% | 5% | -8.73% | 131,917 | 144,542 |
| CHEVROLET COLORADO | -15.06% | 25,484 | 30,004 | 3% | 4% | -9.30% | 122,304 | 134,842 |
| CHEVROLET TRAX | +47.64% | 33,039 | 22,378 | 4% | 3% | +29.92% | 116,816 | 89,916 |
| BUICK ENCORE | +22.17% | 28,497 | 23,326 | 4% | 3% | +10.02% | 102,402 | 93,073 |
| GMC TERRAIN | -11.19% | 28,060 | 31,595 | 4% | 4% | -11.24% | 101,470 | 114,314 |
| CHEVROLET TAHOE | -14.56% | 21,086 | 24,679 | 3% | 3% | -2.85% | 101,189 | 104,153 |
| GMC ACADIA | -22.51% | 19,471 | 25,128 | 3% | 3% | +12.20% | 99,429 | 88,621 |
| CHEVROLET EXPRESS | -26.13% | 16,652 | 22,543 | 2% | 3% | -4.66% | 77,457 | 81,239 |
| GMC YUKON | -17.35% | 20,966 | 25,366 | 3% | 3% | -7.56% | 74,673 | 80,784 |
| CHEVROLET BLAZER | +85,114.78% | 23,008 | 27 | 3% | 0% | +215,140.74% | 58,115 | 27 |
| CHEVROLET SUBURBAN | -32.62% | 10,242 | 15,200 | 1% | 2% | -14.36% | 51,928 | 60,633 |
| BUICK ENCLAVE | -29.66% | 10,143 | 14,420 | 1% | 2% | +3.04% | 51,156 | 49,647 |
| CADILLAC XT5 | -17.77% | 11,168 | 13,582 | 2% | 2% | -17.64% | 49,879 | 60,565 |
| CHEVROLET CAMARO | +3.04% | 11,474 | 11,135 | 2% | 1% | -5.29% | 48,265 | 50,963 |
| CHEVROLET CRUZE | -91.81% | 2,699 | 32,955 | 0% | 4% | -66.36% | 47,975 | 142,617 |
| CHEVROLET IMPALA | -24.27% | 9,545 | 12,604 | 1% | 2% | -20.47% | 44,978 | 56,556 |
| CADILLAC ESCALADE | -7.15% | 8,889 | 9,573 | 1% | 1% | -3.93% | 35,424 | 36,872 |
| BUICK ENVISION | +11.21% | 8,380 | 7,535 | 1% | 1% | +10.20% | 33,229 | 30,152 |
| GMC CANYON | -20.61% | 6,525 | 8,219 | 1% | 1% | -1.99% | 32,825 | 33,492 |
| CADILLAC XT4 | +17.46% | 8,895 | 7,573 | 1% | 1% | +310.88% | 31,987 | 7,785 |
| CHEVROLET SPARK | +112.91% | 11,016 | 5,174 | 1% | 1% | +32.54% | 31,281 | 23,602 |
| GMC SAVANA | +7.95% | 3,136 | 2,905 | 0% | 0% | +23.07% | 24,226 | 19,684 |
| CHEVROLET CORVETTE | -10.72% | 3,491 | 3,910 | 0% | 0% | -4.27% | 17,988 | 18,791 |
| CHEVROLET BOLT EV | -46.76% | 3,307 | 6,212 | 0% | 1% | -8.89% | 16,418 | 18,019 |
| CHEVROLET SONIC | +20.76% | 3,339 | 2,765 | 0% | 0% | -32.22% | 13,971 | 20,613 |
| CADILLAC XT6 | * | 7,169 | 0 | 1% | 0% | * | 11,559 | 0 |
| CADILLAC XTS | -79.02% | 1,062 | 5,063 | 0% | 1% | -36.23% | 11,304 | 17,727 |
| BUICK REGAL | -51.32% | 1,514 | 3,110 | 0% | 0% | -26.60% | 10,363 | 14,118 |
| CADILLAC CT6 | -5.09% | 2,276 | 2,398 | 0% | 0% | -17.76% | 7,951 | 9,668 |
| BUICK LACROSSE | -78.14% | 463 | 2,118 | 0% | 0% | -53.37% | 7,241 | 15,527 |
| CADILLAC CTS | -60.44% | 966 | 2,442 | 0% | 0% | -37.92% | 6,965 | 11,219 |
| CHEVROLET VOLT | -92.69% | 370 | 5,063 | 0% | 1% | -73.18% | 4,910 | 18,306 |
| CHEVROLET LOW CAB FORWARD | +35.43% | 1,273 | 940 | 0% | 0% | +59.96% | 4,495 | 2,810 |
| BUICK CASCADA | -89.64% | 77 | 743 | 0% | 0% | -38.71% | 2,535 | 4,136 |
| CADILLAC ATS | -90.01% | 83 | 831 | 0% | 0% | -89.56% | 1,134 | 10,859 |
Comments
Interesting. Can anyone else pick up what appears to be subliminal message in this article?
Of the pictures, the Malibu (only sedan in the article in the top ten) was very difficult to even notice as it was just a straight-forward pic of the grille. On top of that, it was from a Chinese (??) picture according to the plate. Lastly, it had the absolute least narrative given to it.
If they realized it or not, even GM Authority is minimizing the sales of one of the only remaining sedans. Given the better pics of all the trucks/SUV’s in this article and the more detail wording for them, does anyone not see the demise of sedans in the USA?
So they are also hiding the ZR2 because it was a straight on photo too? Not!
Please don’t mistake a random photo for a evil Chinese plot.
I think you are over thinking this a bit.
The Malibu will live or die on its sales volume. Right now they have enough sales but if it continues to decline nothing is for sure.
Right now the Camaro is at critical levels.
@2M6: That may be so about the pic of the ZR2, but there was also two pics of the Colorado total.
Don’t read more into my post than it is. There is no idea I have about a Chinese plot. No conspiracy theory. No, it was just an interesting thing that I noticed and commented on. That’s all. Nothing more, nothing less. And my overall point was missed by you. It was that, no matter how subliminal it may be, we are all phasing the sedan out of the picture. (picture as in the overall view of things and not just one actual picture). Just wanted to clarify that last one for you.
You missed my Sarcasm.
I get what you mean it really was not over thinking but it is a little overly dramatic.
Interesting that the Malibu is still holding on; 132,000/year in sales is very respectable. I suppose, in a way, the Equinox is the new Cruze and the Traverse is the new Impala.
The GMC Terrain is not received well in the current market. Consumer Reports rated the Equinox higher than the Terrain..
Dale
Does anyone under 80 years old still subscribe to Consumer Reports?
The Reports stories are pretty meaningless as they are rated on only subscribers reviews. Not very scientific.
The only real difference is the shifter and trim as they are the same vehicle.
To be honest we have a ton of them here in Ohio. GMC is more a Midwest brand with their greatest sales based in this region.
2M6
I think Consumer Reports just makes stuff up. There is no way the can collect enough data on microscopic brands (Mini, Genesis, Jaguar, Fiat, Alfa Romeo) to include them in their survey.
It is the best snapshot you can get on reliability and they do buy and test vehicles at random usually in the most popular trim levels/options if you can actually get an option.They should make it a law manufacturers have to release their info. on warranty claims.
Maybe has something to do with the assembly plant?
Equinox is from Ontario, Terrain is from Mexico.
Just leased a new Terrain. The choice was between the Terrain and the Equinox. The Equinox had more options for the same price, but the interior and ride felt much cheaper than the Terrain.
Interesting article. I have a ’19 Silverado 3500 and a ’19 Trax LS. Both 2019 vehicles impress me as much as my two ’18 Silverado 1500’s.
Funny how the Cruze would have easily been number 3 or 4.
Surely higher if GM would have tried to sell it.
Agreed…..if you look at the models they killed and compare them to the Bolt sales or the entire EV market it makes you wonder what the real issue is. It will be interesting to see what the plant utilization is for Hamtramck facility once everything has settled…
My crystal ball says that as soon as the gas price increases, GM will realize there f up and make some lame excuse to bring small gas cars In from Mexico or maybe Brazil.
Or is it part of the big plan to export more jobs to increase profits.
Cruze WAS the #4.
To think that the Malibu is one of the least marketed cars for Chevy and to still be in 5th overall for GM. 4th if you are only counting Chevy. This with one of the most sub par interiors for models excluding the higher LT and Premier models. They could have done so much more to the Malibu.
They could have equipped the 1.5t with the 9 spd. Give it the tune the Equinox has. Let it be the torque-iest base engine in the segment. Get rid of the carpeted dash and armrests and put materials like leather or some kind of trim that’s not carpet in.
The Malibu sales on brand loyalty and past laurels alone not because it’s a decent car. (Mostly meaning anything lower than lt) The Malibu is a platform cousin to the Regal. Now that the regal is gone give the Malibu its features, like awd, sportback options. Instead of Regal GS with the v6 let it be Malibu RS with v6 as an option or standard.
Because of the aesthetic diversity the Malibu and Regal has as platform cousins. They could really add a lot of options to the Malibu to make it more appealing than ever. With recent design change of making everything look like there Camaro. They could also make this look like a 4 door Camaro. The 2.0t and v6 has the performance to allow it to look like a Camaro.
That’s my 2 cents to the potentially discontinued Malibu that still sales well not only for gm but in it’s respective segment as well.
I’m confused, it says the Silverado has been GM’s best-selling model for a decade….what beat it a decade ago?
And Cruze was #4 until……… it wasn’t.
the japs and koreans are there to pick up the slack
For how much volume they are getting from the Trax and the Encore, you would think that it would make sense to assemble them in Mexico instead of Korea.
capacity and fair trade plays a role
The Trax and Encore are utter GM Garbage, just like the Envoy & Aztek made by old GM.
Is there a public source for combined sales numbers from all brands?
There is “carsalesbase”, but I found only numbers per segment.