Lumpy Month Leaves GM’s October U.S. Sales Flat

General Motors reports flat year-over-year October sales in the U.S., delivering 226,819 units buoyed by demand for the automaker’s new pickup trucks and a strong month for the Chevrolet Cruze small car. Weaker SUV activity offset the result.

GM, which sold 226,402 units in the year-ago period according to WardsAuto data, says it nonetheless posted its best October since 2007. There were 27 selling days last month, same as year-ago.

“The U.S. economy has steadily improved all year and now we are poised for a stronger expansion backed by an improved job market, higher consumer confidence and lower fuel prices,” Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president-Sales Operations, says in a statement.

“We have a strong hand to play, with the industry’s newest and most complete lineup of pickups and SUVs, class-leading crossovers like the Buick Encore and a wealth of new products in the pipeline,” he says.

The newly redesigned Chevy Silverado saw sales rise 10.1% to 46,966, and deliveries of the GMC Sierra increased 12.5% to 18,564.

However, GM’s stable of large SUVs, also recently redesigned, witnessed a surprisingly bumpy month likely affected by lean inventories. Deliveries of the Chevy Tahoe rose 6.1% to 7,912, but sales of the larger Suburban tumbled 18.3% to 4,615. GMC Yukon sales dropped 1.5% to 2,977 and Yukon XL deliveries dipped 38.4% to 2,148.

The performance comes against relatively low fuel prices, but dealer stock of the Yukon, for example, dipped to a 44 days’ supply at the end of September.

Sales of the Cadillac Escalade large luxury SUV went the other way, though, jumping 30.0% to 1,390 copies.

Elsewhere at Cadillac, sales of the brand’s best-selling SRX 5-passenger CUV sank 32.3% to 3,640 and deliveries of the XTS large sedan tumbled 28.1% 1,976 units. Inventories of the SRX have moved largely to ’15 models, while much of its competition still reportedly has high stocks of less-expensive ’14 models on dealer lots.

Sales of the Cadillac CTS sports sedan gained 49.3% to 3,096, pushed higher by a new national lease program on ’14 models offering an attractive $409 monthly payment.

As a unit, Cadillac saw sales fall 8.0% to 13,615.

Sales of the Chevy Cruze small car were another bright spot, as GM used the month to clear out inventories of ’14 models and fleet buyers snatched up an estimated 7,000 units. Cruze sales rose a whopping 51.0% to 24,289.

GM’s volume brand, which turned in 155,965 deliveries for a 0.5% uptick in year-over-year sales, also got a strong month from the Traverse. The large Chevy CUV saw its popularity surge 24.0% to 7,893.

Buick sales steamed ahead again in October, up 6.5% to 18,699. Deliveries of the Encore small CUV rallied 32.7% to 4,780, making it the second-best-selling model for the brand in the month behind the Enclave large CUV, which posted a 1.8% increase to 4,727.

Several new products launching in the coming months give GM confidence as it closes out the remaining eight weeks of the sales year.

GMC’s overall sales slipped 0.8% to 38,540.

The all-new ’15 Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon are arriving now at dealers and combined for 2,158 deliveries last month. The Chevy City Express cargo van, which GM sources from Nissan, started shipping to dealers from Mexico late last month. The City Express will be GM’s first entry in the growing small van segment.

GM launches the Chevy Trax small CUV early next year, hoping to capture some of the success its Encore platform mate enjoys.

GM light-vehicle sales so far this year are up 3.9% to 2.4 million units. The automaker finished October with 792,489 vehicles in stock, a 94-days’ supply.

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