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February
02, 2005
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DETROIT - General Motors dealers sold 279,653 new cars and trucks in January, up 1 percent compared to year-ago deliveries. GM's truck sales (162,267) were up 1 percent, and car sales (117,386) were up 2 percent. "GM's January sales were soft, but not surprising, given our strong close in December and some tough weather across most of the country," said John Smith, group vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "Chevrolet and Cadillac enjoyed solid sales in January, with models like the Chevrolet Cobalt, Aveo and Equinox and the Cadillac STS and Escalade leading the way. Other key vehicles - like the Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Silverado and Saturn Relay also sold well in January. Industry and GM sales should improve over the balance of the first quarter." In trucks, GM's full-size pickup sales rose 6 percent on the strength of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra deliveries, both of which were up versus last year. Additionally, the mid-size pickups Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon had a combined sales improvement of more than 200 percent and also contributed to the 17.5 percent increase for total GM pickup sales. In addition to sales gains in full-size pickups, small utility vehicle sales were up 78.5 percent, paced by the new Chevrolet Equinox. Deliveries of Cadillac SRX, GM's entry into the medium luxury utility segment, rose 24.5 percent. Additionally, GM's large luxury SUV sales improved 13 percent, led by sales increases for Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV and HUMMER H2. January sales of full-size vans continued on the strong pace that began in 2004. The combination of Chevrolet and GMC full-size van sales generated a 31 percent increase over year-ago levels. GM's car sales in January were up 2 percent, driven by solid sales performances by launch vehicles. Entry-level car sales were up 9 percent, led by the new Chevrolet Cobalt and Aveo. Mid-size car deliveries were up 2.5 percent, paced by year-over-year sales improvements for Chevrolet Malibu and Impala and positive sales results for new vehicles like the Pontiac G6 and Buick LaCrosse. In the luxury car segment, Cadillac CTS continued its record sales pace. Among GM brands, Cadillac, Chevrolet, HUMMER and Saab posted sales gains over year-ago levels. Saturn's sales were comparable to last year (-0.2 percent). Cadillac's strong sales results continued in January with a 3 percent improvement in total sales and a 19 percent increase in truck deliveries. Escalade, Escalade ESV and SRX all had sales that were significantly higher than last January. Escalade deliveries rose 23 percent, Escalade ESV sales were up 27 percent, and SRX sales jumped 24.5 percent. CTS had yet another strong month with record sales that were 19 percent higher than year-ago levels. The CTS is entering its fourth year in the market and continues to have year-over-year sales increases. January sales represent the 12th time in the last 13 months that CTS sales have equaled or improved upon the previous year's deliveries. Chevrolet's total sales were up 13 percent, with a 33 percent improvement in car sales. A significant part of the sales lift came from the addition of the Cobalt and Aveo to the Chevrolet product portfolio. Cobalt had a 32 percent sales improvement over December. Aveo sales in January were nearly triple its year-ago level. On the truck side, Silverado sales improved 8 percent, and Colorado had solid sales results, selling more than 10,000 units for the fourth time in the last five months. HUMMER sales were up 5 percent in January. H2 deliveries rose 6 percent, bolstered by the addition of the H2 SUT, which accounted for 27 percent of H2 sales. Saab sales improved 8 percent compared to January 2004 on the strength of the 9-3. Saturn's total deliveries were comparable to last year (-0.2 percent), led by truck sales, which were up 28 percent. Relay, Saturn's new crossover sport van, made a significant contribution to this gain, posting sales that were 32 percent above December's sales. Vue deliveries also were in positive territory, up 3 percent. Certified Used Vehicles January sales for all GM certified used vehicle brands, including GM Certified Used Vehicles, Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned, Used Cars from Saturn and Saab Certified Pre-Owned, were 40,063 units, down 5 percent from last year. GM Certified Used Vehicles, the industry's top-selling manufacturer-certified used brand, posted sales of 34,331 units in January, down 3 percent from year-ago levels. Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles posted sales of 2,893 units in January, up 1 percent. Used Cars from Saturn sold 2,393 units, down 23 percent. Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 446 units, down 40 percent. GM North America Reports January Production, 2005 First-Quarter Production Forecast Revised In January, GM North America produced 351,500 vehicles (141,500 cars and 210,000 trucks), compared to 378,200 vehicles (144,700 cars and 233,500 trucks) produced in January 2004. Production totals include joint venture production of 22,000 vehicles in January 2005 and 9,400 vehicles in January 2004. Also, GM North America's 2005 revised first-quarter production forecast is 1.225 million vehicles (480,000 cars and 745,000 trucks), down 25,000 vehicles from last month's guidance of 1.25 million vehicles. In the first quarter of 2004, GM North America built 1.345 million vehicles (525,000 cars and 820,000 trucks). GM also announced revised 2005 first-quarter production forecasts for its international regions: GM Europe - GM Europe's current 2005 first-quarter production estimate is 499,000 vehicles, down 7,000 vehicles from last month's guidance. In the first quarter of 2004, the region built 473,000 vehicles. GM Asia Pacific - GM Asia Pacific's revised 2005 first-quarter production forecast is 341,000 vehicles, up 4,000 vehicles from last month's guidance. In the first quarter of 2004, the region built 296,000 vehicles. GM Latin America, Africa and the Middle East - The region's 2005 revised first-quarter production estimate is 187,000 vehicles, up 6,000 vehicles from last month's guidance. In the first quarter of 2004, the region built 159,000 vehicles. (Feb. 1, 2005)
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