GM is hoping new product - such as the Chevy Colorado, shown here with product chief Mark Reuss - will help it regain global sales leadership.
Despite recalling millions of vehicles and watching billions of dollars in new legal claims pile up during the first half of the year, General Motors is still in a relatively close race for global sales leadership with rivals Volkswagen and Toyota.
GM has reported selling 2.5 million vehicles around the world during the second quarter of 2014, with year-over-year sales in the United States and China, the company’s two largest markets, growing by 7% and 8%, respectively. Globally, GM’s total sales were up 0.5% for the second quarter. In the first half, GM sold 4,921,928 vehicles, up 1.4%.
Volkswagen AG, thanks to strong sales in China and a solid performance in Europe as well as gains by Audi and Porsche, held a whisker-thin lead with sales of 4.97 million vehicles worldwide during the first half of the year. VW is actively targeting global sales leadership – but the race likely won’t be determined until later this month when Toyota Motor Co. weighs in with its own figures.
(VW pushing to top 10 million sales for first time. Click Here for that report.)
Toyota sales are expected to total more than 5.1 million units, despite a decline in its home market of Japan and a relatively weak position in China where both VW and GM outsell it by better than two-to-1.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra during a hearing on Capitol Hill in June.
“GM did well in the world’s two largest and most profitable vehicle markets and that helped us grow despite very challenging market conditions in parts of South America, Asia and Eastern Europe,” said GM CEO Mary Barra.
(GM lands a dozen models on IIHS list of safest cars for teens. Click Here for more.)
Barra – who again goes to Capitol Hill today to testify about the defective ignition switch that has contributed to at least 13 deaths — said GM was continuing to invest in brands in an effort to maintain its momentum.
One brand that clearly needs to rebuild momentum is Cadillac, the luxury maker taking an unexpected slide this year despite the addition of several key new products. Caddy not only plans to add even more models to its line-up but has hired a new boss, Johan de Nysschen, who most recently headed Infiniti’s global operations and previously oversaw Audi of America.
De Nysschen is expected to not only push for a broader product portfolio but emphasize the expansion of Cadillac’s overseas presence, especially in China, where it gained 51% in the most recent quarter.
(GM, Ford sales blazing in China. Click Here for the story.)
While it doesn’t have much to show for its efforts yet, GM is also rebuilding the Opel brand across Europe by launching a total of 27 new models between 2014 and 2018. GM of Europe and its Opel/Vauxhall brands have lost money for 15 consecutive years. But GM’s sees some signs of hope, Barra said, that as the European market, overall, recovers, the maker’s turnaround plan is finally gaining traction, Opel up 3% for the most recent quarter and 4% for the first half of 2014.
In the home market, meanwhile, It also is entering new segments with vehicles like the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, Barra noted.
GM has been given a boost by the overall shift in North America towards utility vehicles and pickup trucks, the CEO pointed out, noting GM’s new full-size pickups and large SUVs have helped GM achieve record average transaction prices in North America for both the second quarter and first half of 2014.
(Utility vehicles now outsell sedans, according to new study. Click Here for the latest.)
Buick, which celebrated the best sales year in the brand’s 110-year history in 2013, posted an 11% increase in the latest quarter, and is up 12% year-to-date. Going into Chapter 11 in 2009, many expected GM to abandon the Buick brand – along with Saab, Saturn, Hummer and Pontiac. Driven by its strong presence in China, Buick survived, and worldwide, the brand’s sales in the first six months of 2014 are up 152% higher than they were just six years ago, outpacing all other major American, European, Japanese and Korean makes.