GM’s U.S. Sales Spike in January

General Motors U.S. sales get off to a brisk start in 2015, rising 13.7% on a daily selling basis in January due to robust truck and CUV deliveries.

The Detroit automaker sold 202,786 units last month, according to WardsAuto data. GM sold 171,486 units in the same period last year. GM’s first sales report of 2015 gets the automaker off to a fast start after deliveries increased 5.3% in full-2014 against an industry up 5.8%, and signals consumers are in buying mood.

“More people are working, the U.S. economy is expanding and fuel prices are low,” Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president-Sales Operations, says in a statement.

“Consumer and commercial demand for trucks and crossovers is really driving our business, and our move into the small (CUV) segment with the Chevrolet Trax and Buick Encore, and midsize pickups with the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, was well-timed,” he says.

GM and its competitors also enjoyed the benefit of favorable year-over-year comparisons. Last year, the U.S. was socked with severe weather and it kept consumers off the streets and out of dealer showrooms. Automakers saw an extra selling day last month, too.

Trucks and CUVs carried the day for GM last month. The automaker says pickup deliveries surged, driven up by 8,000 sales of its redesigned Colorado and Canyon. GM claims the Colorado is now the No.2 retail seller by market share, overtaking the Nissan Frontier.

CUV demand also jumped, as the Chevy Equinox and Traverse, the GMC Terrain and the Buick Encore each posted their best January sales month ever.

Total Chevrolet sales climbed 15.4% to 142,882. The result included 36,106 units of the Silverado, up 20% vs. year-ago. Sales of the Tahoe large SUV jumped 80% to 6,607, while popularity of the larger Suburban SUV more than doubled to 4,130.

Buick sales tumbled 9.1% to 12,553, due entirely to weak pull for its LaCrosse, Regal and Verano sedans. GM will idle Verano production because of bulging inventories.

Cadillac slipped 1.4% on volume of 11,680 units. Sales of the Escalade and Escalade ESV notable, as deliveries of the large luxury SUVs more than doubled. Cadillac sales overall have been on the skids in the U.S. because of lackluster demand for its cars.

GMC sales rallied 23.7% to 35,671, with the Sierra large pickup accounting for a 9.2% sales improvement to 12,621 copies.