General Motors pleasantly surprised industry analysts Tuesday when it reported a 6 percent increase in sales for the month of August 2007 compared with year ago monthly sales for August.GM reported total sales of 385,529 putting it comfortably ahead of nearest rival Toyota(US sales only).GM now commands a market share of 26% in the US in light vehicles.When one considers that this has been achieved bucking the industry trend of weak auto sales in this period GM's achievement appears even more commendable.GM's excellent showing helped domestic brands to recapture a majority of US sales.
Although car sales for GM continued their earlier decline,they dropped almost 8%,this was offset by a 16.5% jump in light truck models.Industry analysts are impressed because they feel that this was achieved not merely by giving out increased incentives but because some of their vehicles were genuinely successful in the market, the hottest vehicles presently being their crossovers.The quality of GM products is being recognized.A recent study ranked the Buick number one in vehicle dependability (tied with the Toyota Lexus). Another customer service survey ranks GM better than the industry average above Toyota,Ford and Mercedes Benz.
This excellent performance led Mark La Nevre. GM vice president in charge of North America sales,servicing and marketing to remark "The myth of import superiority is being destroyed'.
August also saw Ford sales drop 14% and it was overtaken by Toyota as the no. two US manufacturer of light vehicles(excluding heavy duty trucks).Toyota also posted a surprise 2.8% drop in US sales to 233,471 vehicles.
What is encouraging for GM is that their vehicles are being picked up for better performance and fuel economy.The 5 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty offered by GM is popular with the customers especially because it includes transferability to new owners and more complete coverage for parts as well.GM also offers better complimentary programs such as courtesy transportation and roadside assistance.
Although it is Nissan which leads the pack with a 6.3% increase in sales in August, its performance comes on a very low base.It had sold 89,848 vehicles in August last year which increased to 95,527 vehicles this year.Its overall numbers are way below those of GM.
The stock market seemed to welcome this news and GM shares rose 3.2% Tuesday.However the automotive forecasting company C.S.M. worldwide has predicted that US sales will total only 16.2 million in 2007 or 350,000 fewer vehicles than last year.That would be the lowest annual sales total since 1998.How the rest of the year turns out for GM remains to be seen.