GM’s U.S. Sales Close Out 2014 on High Note

General Motors closes out 2014 on a brisk note, as the automaker’s U.S. December daily sales rise 14.7% on the strength of fresh offerings from its volume Chevrolet brand and year-end shoppers in a buying mood.

“Everything you need to have a great month was in place,” GM sales executive Kurt McNeil says.

“Consumers felt good about the direction of the economy, interest rates and fuel prices were low and our dealers did a great job introducing customers to our incredible range of new and redesigned vehicles,” he says in a statement.

GM delivered 274,483 vehicles last month, compared with 230,157 year-ago, according to WardsAuto data. There was one extra selling day in the month vs. year-ago. The automaker sold a total 2.9 million vehicles last year, up 5.3% over 2.8 million in 2013.

The Chevrolet brand carried the day last month, registering 184,938 sales, an improvement of 15.9% vs. like-2013. Full-year bowtie-brand sales were up 4.4% to 2.03 million units.

Trucks did the heavy lifting last month, with Silverado large pickup sales gaining 30.6% to 57,837. The all-new Colorado midsize pickup, still building dealer inventories as the new year gets under way, sold 4,037 copies. Sales of the Tahoe large SUV jumped 25.2% to 11,259, and deliveries of the larger Suburban SUV edged up 11.7% to 5,820. All of those models wear sheet metal less than a year old.

Chevy’s car and CUV lineup also performed impressively in December. Sales of the Traverse large CUV rallied 6.7% to 8,654, while deliveries of the 5-passenger Equinox CUV rose 19% to 21,298. The Malibu midsize sedan saw its popularity improve 4.4% to 16,817 and sales of the Sonic compact car grew 18.3% to 5,456. The Cruze compact car was among the few models in the red, as sales slumped 5.8% to 17,800 copies.

Cadillac sales finished 2014 down 6.5% to 170,750, despite several new entries in its car line, and December sales were off 14.5% to 16,150. Sales of the ATS compact sports sedan and coupe last month plunged 39% to 2,465, while deliveries of the larger CTS sports sedan dropped 20.7% to 2,652.

GM last month announced it would eliminate a second shift at the ATS/CTS assembly plant in Lansing, MI, to cull inventories of the cars as the automaker retools Cadillac’s image and marketing strategy in a long-term bid to regain momentum.

Buick sales capped a robust year in December. The brand’s sales last month rose 27.3% to 20,357, giving Buick a solid 11.4% year-over-year improvement on volume of 228,963 vehicles.

Sales of the Buick Enclave large CUV jumped 47.5% last month to 7,393, while deliveries of the LaCrosse large sedan were up 55% to 5,034 and the Encore compact CUV saw 3,102 buyers, up 8% year-on-year.

GMC sales finished 2014 up 11.3% to 501,853 and booked 53,038 deliveries in December, an 18.3% improvement over like-2013. Sales of the Sierra large pickup grew 26.2% to 23,436, and deliveries of the Yukon large SUV gained 26.4% to 4,729. Sales of the Terrain 5-passenger CUV jumped 32.6% 11,032, while the Acadia large CUV saw its popularity wane 11.1% to 7,323.

GM also says average transaction prices were a record $36,300 in December, according to third-party estimates, and the automaker marked its 27^th straight month of ATP gains. Incentive spending as a percentage of ATPs was down last month, GM says.

Although sales results from several automakers were still coming in today, it appears December industry sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16.9 million units and GM claimed an 18.1% market share. The automaker closes 2014 with an estimated market share of 17.8%, flat with 2013.

GM will provide its 2015 sales forecast at next week’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and the automaker’s chief economist expresses optimism.

“The momentum the economy carried through 2014 accelerated in the fourth quarter,” says Mustafa Mohatarem. “Car-buying fundamentals remain strong and we expect higher industry sales in 2015.”

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