Hot Crossovers Take Some Chill Off GM Sales

General Motors’ June U.S. daily sales tumble 4.7%, reflecting a softening of demand industrywide for the sixth straight month.

The Detroit automaker sold 243,155 light vehicles last month, compared with 255,210 in the same period last year, according to WardsAuto data. There were 26 selling days, same as year-ago. GM sales year-to-date are down 1.8% to 1.41 million units from 1.44 million.

GM remains upbeat despite the slowdown, noting in its sale report continued strong pull for its newly redesigned CUVs from consumers who cannot get enough of the rugged-looking, cargo-swallowing crossovers. The automaker also says sales to commercial customers jumped and it stayed on course to limit deliveries to rental-car companies in favor of the historically more profitable retail channel.

“Our crossover renaissance began last year with the introduction of the all-new GMC Acadia and Cadillac XT5, and continued this year with the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Equinox,” says Kurt McNeil, vice president-U.S. Sales Operations at GM.

“The all-new Equinox is off to a strong start and we will leverage that momentum as we introduce four additional crossovers in the second half of 2017,” McNeil says in a statement.

Reflecting strength in CUVs, GM’s truck sales last month rose 11.2% to 192,349 units from 173,013, while car sales dropped 38.2% to 50,806 from 82,197. The automaker recently cut production at its U.S. car assembly plants to move output in line with slackened demand.

Chevrolet sales slipped 6.4% to 169,842 from 181,387. The redesigned Equinox kept the brand from falling further in the month, as deliveries of the 5-passenger CUV jumped 49% to 29,182 from 19,582. Sales of the larger Traverse, which also is newly redesigned, expanded 29.9% to 10,780 from 8,297. The tiny Trax CUV kept its positive streak alive, rising 1.6% to 5,887 from 5,796.

Demand for GM’s best-selling product, the Chevy Silverado, edged up 1.7% to 50,515 from 49,662. Sales of the popular Chevy Tahoe and Suburban large SUVs rose 6.2% and 7.9%, respectively.

Buick was the sole GM brand in positive territory last month, with deliveries climbing 16.4% to 19,299 from 16,575 on the strength of a 7.7% gain for the Encore compact CUV to 6,563 from 6,091.

Cadillac sales fell 11.8% to 12,580 units from 14,263, while GMC deliveries slid 3.6% to 41,434 from 42,985. The bright note at GMC was the redesigned Acadia large CUV, which saw demand leap 27.2% to 7,884 from 6,200.

GM closed last month with 980,454 cars and trucks in stock for a 105 days’ supply, compared with 963,448 units and a 101 days’ supply in like-2016.

GM Chief Financial Officer Check Stevens last week lowered the automaker’s U.S. sales forecast, saying industry deliveries could fall 200,000-300,000 units from last year’s record 17.54 million. He also said GM continued to work at stabilizing inventories with demand.

However, the automaker is not ready to call in the dogs on seven years of record retail demand for new vehicles.

“U.S. total sales are moderating due to an industry-wide pull-back in daily rental sales, but key U.S. economic fundamentals clearly remain positive,” says GM Chief Economist Mustafa Mohatarem. “Under the current economic conditions, we anticipate U.S. retail vehicle sales will remain strong for the foreseeable future.”

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