United Auto Employees (UAW) members and supporters on a picket line outside the General Motors Co. Flint Processing Center in Swartz Creek, Michigan, US, on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023.
Emily Elconin | Bloomberg | Getty Images
DETROIT – An ongoing strike by the United Auto Employees union against the Detroit automakers had little to no direct effect on General Motors’ third-quarter U.S. latest vehicle sales.
The Detroit automaker on Tuesday reported a 21.4% increase in sales from July through September, in comparison with still subdued sales within the third quarter of 2022, when the industry was still recovering from supply chain issues.
GM’s increase significantly outpaced auto analyst expectations for the general industry of 15% to 16% for the third quarter. Sales of each considered one of the Detroit automaker’s brands rose in comparison with a 12 months earlier.
Not all automakers faired as well as GM within the quarter. But their sales largely climbed by way of vehicles sold in comparison with a 12 months ago. Third-quarter sales results reported Tuesday included: Toyota Motor up 12.2%; Hyundai Motor up roughly 9%; Kia up about 14%; Mazda up about 22%; and Honda up roughly 53%.
Stellantis was an outlier, as sales slid 1.3%. The corporate’s decline is notable, but not prone to be attributed to the UAW strikes. Stellantis’ sales have struggled as it attempts to retain high profits achieved in recent times by not discounting its vehicles as much as it has historically. The corporate didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Though work stoppages may not have hit their results yet, GM and other corporations likely will face sales and provide chain problems if the UAW’s strike, which began Sept. 15, is expanded or prolonged. Only 25,200 employees, or roughly 17% of UAW members covered by the expired contracts with GM, Ford Motor and Stellantis, are a part of the work stoppages.
UAW has been regularly increasing the strikes for the reason that work stoppages began, after the perimeters failed to succeed in tentative agreements by Sept 14. The targeted, or “rise up,” strikes are going down as an alternative of national walkouts wherein all plants concurrently strike.
National strikes affect the businesses more quickly. The targeted walkouts aim to preserve the union’s funds and delay the work stoppages to maintain the automakers off keel.
The impacts of the strikes will likely begin showing in October for certain vehicles such as the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickups, where work stoppages have affected production, in accordance with Cox Automotive chief economist Jonathan Smoke.
2024 Chevrolet Trax (left) and 2024 Buick Envista
Michael Wayland / CNBC
“Up to now, the impact has been fairly muted,” Smoke said in a Friday blog post. “Should the strike against production sites further expand, the more vulnerable products are the big SUVs from Chevrolet and Cadillac, which have tighter inventory levels in comparison with their domestic rivals.”
For GM, the UAW strikes have hit production of the midsize pickups and Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave SUVs.
GM’s sales heading into the fourth quarter were up greater than 19% to roughly 1.97 million vehicles sold within the U.S. That included greater than 20,000 electric vehicle sales, a 28% increase in comparison with the second quarter.
Notably, the automaker began selling latest electric versions of its Chevrolet Blazer SUV and Silverado pickup through the third quarter. The corporate also increased production and sales of the Cadillac Lyriq EV and Hummer models through the quarter. Nevertheless, sales still pale compared to Tesla’s electric vehicle deliveries.
Throughout the quarter, GM also was assisted by growth of newer, entry-level models such as the Chevrolet Trax and Buick Envista, each of that are being imported from plants in South Korea.