Cadillac Lone Drag on GM’s January U.S. Sales

General Motors starts the year right, posting an 8.8% gain in daily sales in January, according to WardsAuto data, the best performance for the month in eight years.

“GM began 2016 in a very strong competitive position,” Kurt McNeil, GM’s U.S. vice president-sales operations, sums up in a statement.

There weren’t many negatives in the automaker’s January report, as all brands but Cadillac posted solid gains in daily sales (two more days this year than last year).

Buick was the star performer recording a 57.7% spike, with its revised-for’17 LaCrosse (up 117.3%) and Regal (262.9%) large and midsize cars surprising contributors. The result was the brand’s best January since 2003.

The volume Chevrolet brand managed a 4.5% hike in daily sales, with mixed results among car and truck models. The Silverado fullsize pickup gained 13.6%, while the Suburban fullsize SUV was down 14.2%. The Malibu, in the midst of a model change, recorded its best January since 1981, with sales up 34.5%, while Cruze demand sagged 16.8%, according to WardsAuto data.

GMC, posting its best January since 2004, was second to Buick with a 12.2% bump in daily sales. The outgoing Acadia, down 1.1%, was the lone model not to best like-2015 results.

Cadillac’s tiny 0.4% decline in daily volume was the only blemish for GM in the month, as nearly all models posted double-digit declines. The critical ATS and CTS sedans, both down by more than 34%, were among underperformers. The SRX CUV, up 48.5%, was Cadillac’s sole bright spot.

GM says its average transaction price hit $33,600 in the month, about $3,000 above the industry average. The automaker’s incentive spending equaled 12.4% of the ATP, compared to an industry average of 10.7%.

Fleet sales grew 6% on the commercial side in January, but rental volume dropped by nearly 13,000 units in the month, GM says.

The automaker closed January with 629,878 units in inventory, equaling a 74-day supply. That compares with 630,950 and 61 days year-ago.

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