The 2024 Buick Envista.
GM
DETROIT — General Motors on Tuesday reported a 1.5% decline in first-quarter U.S. vehicle sales in comparison with a yr ago, as the general auto industry normalizes after years of disruptions and volatile results.
The Detroit automaker said the decline to 594,233 vehicles sold in the course of the first three months of the yr was largely because of a 22.9% year-over-year decline in sales to fleet customers. Retail sales to customers were up 6%, GM said.
GM’s sales were in-line with Cox Automotive estimates but below expectations for the general industry. The auto data firm forecast U.S. auto industry sales to be up 5.5% from a yr earlier.
Buick was the one GM brand to report a sales increase in the course of the quarter, up 16.4% from a yr earlier. The GMC truck brand was off about 5%, while Cadillac and Chevrolet were each off about 2%.
GM reported sales of its full-size pickups totaled roughly 197,000 units in the course of the first quarter, up 3.6% from a yr earlier, marking its best performance during that point because the first quarter of 2020.
“GM gained retail market share year-over-year with strong mix and pricing, our inventories are in good condition heading into the spring, and production and deliveries of Ultium Platform EVs are rising, led by the Cadillac Lyriq. We’re on plan,” GM North America President Marissa West said in an announcement.
Electric vehicle sales
Sales of GM’s all-electric vehicles, closely watched by Wall Street, remained miniscule in the course of the first quarter. EV sales totaled 16,425 units, or 2.8% of the automaker’s overall sales in the course of the period.
GM is within the means of ramping up production of its newest EVs, including the Cadillac Lyriq and the Blazer EV, while winding down sales of Chevrolet Bolt models, which were discontinued in December.
First-quarter sales of the Blazer EV were limited, totaling 600 units, because of a stop-sale that was in effect from late December until early March to resolve software issues.
Hyundai and other automakers
Other automakers reported various results for the primary quarter, as inventories and sales normalize to levels not seen since before the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Hyundai Motor America CEO Randy Parker noted the industry is getting more competitive as automakers attempt to keep up profits of recent years without oversubsidizing sales.
“The market is changing swiftly, and it’s gotten lots more competitive,” Parker said Tuesday during a media call.
Hyundai reported its best March sales ever last month, at 76,920 vehicles sold, but its first-quarter sales were only up 0.2% in comparison with a yr earlier.
Individually, Hyundai’s Genesis luxury brand reported sales of 14,777 vehicles in the course of the first quarter, up 7.3% yr over yr.
Here is how other major automakers performed in U.S. sales in comparison with the primary quarter of 2023:
- Toyota Motor reported a 16% increase in sales, including a 16.1% increase in March. The corporate sold nearly 388,000 vehicles in the course of the first three months of the yr.
- Honda Motor reported a 17.3% jump in sales to just about 334,000 vehicles sold, including a ten.1% increase in March.
- Kia reported sales of 179,621 vehicles in the course of the first quarter, off 2.5% yr over yr.
- Nissan Group announced first quarter sales of 252,735 vehicles, a 7.2% increase from a yr earlier.
- EV startup Rivian Automotive reported vehicle deliveries of 13,588 vehicles in the course of the first quarter, up from 7,946 vehicles a yr earlier. The corporate reaffirmed guidance for annual production of 57,000 total vehicles, including 13,980 in the course of the first three months of the yr.