Retail Demand Propels GM to Small Sales Gain in March

General Motors ekes out a 1.6% U.S. sales gain in March on strong retail demand and double-digit growth for its Buick and GMC brands.

The automaker delivered 256,224 light vehicles last month, according to WardsAuto data, up from 252,128 in like-2016 on the identical number of sales days (27) in both periods.

GM says its retail volume jumped 5.0% to 203,113, pushing its retail market share up 0.6 points to 16.1%. Those results were driven by Chevrolet, which gained 0.4 points in retail share, and Buick, up 0.3 points, the automaker says.

Fleet sales accounted for 20.7% of GM’s overall volume, down 2.5 points from like-2016. Through the first quarter, fleets accounted for an identical 20.7% of the mix, down 0.8 points from year-ago.

Buick led the way for the automaker in March, notching a 15.1% rise in overall sales to 20,957. Its Encore CUV posted a 29.1% jump to 8,293 and its new Envision CUV added 3,584 units to the brand’s total in the month, offsetting steep double-digit declines for the Cascada convertible, Verano small car and Enclave CUV.

GMC also had a strong showing, with volume up 12.0% to 49,948 units. The Acadia (up 84.0%) and Terrain (+13.6%) CUVs and Savana van (+196.5%) were the brand’s best performers in March.

The Buick-GMC showing offset declines at Cadillac (down 1.5%) and Chevrolet (off 2.2%). Cadillac saw every model decline in volume except the XT5 CUV, which outsold its SRX predecessor by 22%. Sales of the new CT6 reached 968, up from just 35 year-ago, but that volume failed to match like-2016 sales of the XTS (1,484), the model it replaced.

Chevrolet got solid results from its Cruze (up 88.3%), Spark (+45.4%) and SS (+325.5%) cars and most of its CUVs and SUVs. Its Bolt electric vehicle added 978 units to the division’s total for the month.

Pickup sales took a hit last month, however, with the fullsize Chevy Silverado off 11.6% and GMC Sierra down 14.3% and the compact Chevy Colorado falling 13.3% and GMC Canyon slipping 13.1%.

Overall, GM appears happy with the March results, with Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president-sales operations, predicting “more growth ahead for our brands.

“More people are working, consumer confidence is at a 16-year high, fuel prices are low and Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac have a wave of new crossovers to compete in the industry’s biggest and hottest segments,” he says in a statement.

GM ended March with 926,170 vehicles in inventory, equivalent to a 98-day supply. That’s up from 900,681 and a 91-day supply year ago, but the automaker says it expects to get stocks down to closer to 90 days in the second quarter. It also plans to end the year with a better car/CUV mix on dealer lots.

[email protected] @DavidZoia