Chevrolet Cruze may grab another month as America's best-selling passenger car.
General Motors Co. sales for July rose by 8% when compared to year-earlier sales, setting a positive tone for a month that is still expected to underscore the weakness of the overall American economy.
Retail sales for GM’s brands rose 6% for the month compared to a year ago levels – but they were just 1% higher than June’s generally anemic numbers.
“Sales of our fuel-efficient cars like the Chevrolet Cruze and our crossovers remain strong, and we’re now also seeing the seasonal lift in full-size pickups that we expected,” said Don Johnson, vice president, U.S. Sales Operations.
The U.S. auto sector has several significant headwinds in the past several months, sales slowing markedly as warmer weather approached, a sharp contrast to the surge normally seen during the so-called “spring buying season.” Preliminary projections from J.D. Power and Associates anticipate July will still see overall U.S. demand come in at under 13 million – on an annualized basis – for the third month in a row.
Nonetheless, the industry is poised to regain some of its lost momentum in the second half of the year, aided by higher supply and pent-up demand – especially as makers like Toyota and Nissan push past the shortages created by the March 11 disaster that severely crippled the Japanese auto industry.
“There are people who put off vehicle purchases because of uncertainty about fuel prices, vehicle availability and the economy,” Johnson said. “As these conditions improve in the latter half of this year, many of these buyers will return to the market.”
While American makers have not made major inroads by luring away many traditionally Japanese-oriented buyers, GM still has picked up some opportunities to brag – the compact Chevrolet Cruze pushing past rivals like the Honda Civic to become the nation’s best-selling passenger car in June.
This last month, total sales of the Cruze pushed above 20,000 for the fourth-straight month, at 24,648 units. The 32 miles-per-gallon highway-rated GMC Terrain and Chevrolet Equinox compact crossovers saw combined retail sales increase 73% during the month.
Total sales for GM’s full-size pickups – Chevrolet Silverado and Avalanche, and GMC Sierra, increased 2% from June, while retail sales – those to individual customers – rose 5% compared to last month.
Former GM brand, Saab North America reported an 18% decline in sales for July, following the recent turmoil at the company home base in Sweden. The maker’s primary product lines, the 9-3 and 9-5, have been out of production since late March due to a boycott by unpaid suppliers.
“Despite continued weakness in the economy and the ongoing concern over the debt ceiling, consumers continued to purchase vehicles packed with options in July,” said Jesse Toprak, VP of IndustryTrends and Insights for TrueCar.com, a internet site devoted to monitoring automobile pricings, purchases and shopping trends
“Tightened inventories, lower dealer discounting and manufacturer incentives, along with a more expensive product mix resulted in the highest transaction prices we have recorded in the industry,” he said.
The rest of the industry will be reporting results later today.
Meanwhile, preliminary data suggest that the used car market picked up much of the slack from the new car side of the business. But the recent run-up in prices for previously owned vehicles diminished a bit, according to CNW Marketing, July used car transaction prices falling slightly. (For more on the “blockbuster” market for previously-owned vehicles, Click Here.)
Paul A. Eisenstein contributed to this report.