General Motors Sales Dropped

Anthony Fontanelle
July 4, 2007

Last month, Detroit auto manufacturer General Motors sold 326,320 vehicles. This is down by 24 percent as compared to the number of vehicles the company has sold for the same month last year. The decline in sale is the effect of the company’s decision to reduce the number of vehicles sold to rental fleets.

“Given the planned reduction in daily rental sales, we expected June would be a tough comparison to a year ago,” said Mark LaNeve, the vice president of General Motors North America Sales, Service and Marketing. “Our retail performance for the month was also below the solid running rate we’ve experienced for the first half of the year which we attribute to a soft industry and lower incentive spending than our competitors. However, we continue to believe that maintaining a disciplined approach to both incentives and daily rental car sales is key to making our marketing strategy work in the long run.”

Although sales for the carmaker is down, the company still has something to celebrate as new vehicles are receiving positive responses from car buyers and auto experts.

“We continue our focus on the retail side of the equation and first-half results were solid,” said LaNeve. “We are delighted with the continuing success of new products, especially the GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave. As with many of our vehicles, these all-new crossovers offer great fuel economy, terrific performance and outstanding value. For example, a year ago we were selling only about 3,000 mid-utility crossover vehicles. This June we blew the doors off the segment with deliveries in excess of 15,000.”

The reigning North America Car of the Year, the Saturn Aura, posted an increase in sale. The increased sale may be attributed to the aggressive marketing campaign launched by the General Motors subsidiary which pitted the Aura against the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. Aside from the Saturn Aura, the three new crossovers using the General Motors Lambda platform are performing well in the market.

The Saturn brake rotor-equipped Saturn Outlook, the GMC Acadia and the Buick Enclave allowed General Motors to have a foothold in the growing crossover SUV segment. Combined, more than 12,000 units of the Outlook, Acadia, and the Enclave were already sold. In the past, the crossover market is dominated by Asian carmakers, but with the introduction of these three crossovers, General Motors is succeeding in making a name for itself in the crowded class.

“We’re seeing increased residual values for our products as a result of staying aligned and disciplined to our North American turnaround and market growth plans,” said LaNeve. “For customers, this means providing industry-leading products in terms of design, segment fuel economy, warranty coverage and performance. This translates to a beneficial cost of ownership experience. With new products such as the Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Malibu coming to dealer showrooms later this year, we expect to build on this customer enthusiasm.”

Aside from the three new crossovers, other General Motors vehicles which have performed well in the market are the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra. These two pickup trucks are marketed by General Motors by pointing out that it leads its respective class in terms of fuel efficiency. Aside from fuel efficiency, the two trucks are also offered with the best warranty package in their class. The combination of which made the two light trucks a favorite among auto buyers.

Source:  Amazines.com