Big Pickups and SUVs Power More Gains for General Motors - Motley Fool
GM said on Monday that its U. S. sales rose 6%, its best July result since 2007, thanks -- once again -- to strong sales of pickups and SUVs. Both pickup trucks and SUVs tend to be more profitable than similarly sized car models, and many automakers have benefited as low gas prices and demographic trends have boosted sales of trucks over cars. Ford 's new F-150 may be stealing the bulk of the headlines these days -- but it's GM's full-size Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra that are stealing big sales from the Blue Oval. Tight supplies of the new F-150 have limited Ford's ability to make gains in a booming market. Sales of the Silverado rose 34% in July, and the Sierra was up another 13%. Sales of the two combined are up 16% this year through July -- and they lead Ford's F-Series by over 29,000 units. Investors are rightly wary of low-margin rental-fleet sales, but sales of trucks to contractors, mining companies, and other commercial-fleet operators is good business. Both Ford and GM compete hard for it -- but with Ford prioritizing retail sales of its new trucks, GM has been able to make big gains in 2015. GM's commercial-fleet sales have risen 17% this year. GM's new-for-2015 midsize pickups, the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, continue to sell nearly as fast as GM can make them. Source: www.fool.com
