Pickups, retail sales power GM's 6.4% gain - Automotive News
DETROIT -- General Motors' U. S. July sales rose 6. 4 percent on strong retail volume, including a 28 percent surge in deliveries of its profitable full-size pickups. GM's total sales of 272,512 vehicles marked the company's best July since 2007. GM said retail sales grew 14 percent while fleet sales slid 20 percent, reflecting a continued effort to reduce sales to rental companies. Chevrolet sales rose 7. 8 percent to 188,890 vehicles, propelled by a 16 percent jump in retail sales. The midsize Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, launched last fall, chipped in nearly 10,000 units of incremental sales. Incentive spending in July ticked higher, averaging 12. 5 percent of average transaction prices, up from 12. 1 percent a year earlier. GM said truck sales rose 15 percent and crossover sales grew 12 percent, while car deliveries slid 8. 5 percent. Buick's July sales rose 18 percent, to 20,791, driven by a 68 percent spike in sales of the Encore. GMC sales rose 1. 4 percent to 48,777 units, its best July in a decade and the ninth straight month of year-over-year increases. Source: www.autonews.com
