General Motors: Strong Truck Sales Are Setting Up Another Big Quarter - Motley Fool
said on Tuesday that its U. S. retail sales rose 6% in August, on continued strong sales of SUVs and pickups. Including a big drop in fleet sales -- which GM has been working to reduce -- GM's sales were roughly flat versus a strong year-ago result. But GM managed a gain at retail thanks to continued strong demand for its trucks and crossover SUVs. Nearly all of the major automakers were expected to report year-over-year sales declines in August. Last month had one less "selling day" than August 2014 (many auto dealers are closed on Sundays) and Labor Day weekend -- traditionally a hot time for car sales -- is later this year. GM said in a statement that it gained more than 1 percentage point of retail market share versus last August -- and it did so while maintaining high average transaction prices. Continued strong sales of profitable pickups and crossover SUVs. Chevrolet Silverado sales rose 12%, while its upscale GMC Sierra sibling gained 7% over good year-ago results. GM likes to brag that the Sierra line has the highest average transaction prices of any pickup line in the industry. One indicator of demand is what the industry calls "days to turn," which is the average number of days a vehicle spends on a dealer's lot before being sold. Source: www.fool.com
