U.S. Vehicle Sales Analysis

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Industry selling rate down versus year-ago: The cumulative selling rate for the industry during November was 16.9 million units (7.5 million cars and 9.4 million trucks). Performance declined compared to last November’s selling rate of 17.3 million units (7.8 million cars and 9.5 million trucks). Industry sales for the month were down 0.3 percent, consistent with GM’s expectations. Calendar year-to-date sales are up 1.4 percent.


GM Sells 303,891 Vehicles in November

· GM sold 303,891 vehicles in November, down 13 percent compared to year-ago levels. Truck sales were down 10 percent, and car sales were down 17 percent. Launch vehicles sold well in November, as did medium pickups and medium-luxury utilities, which had sales improvements.

GM Truck Sales

· Although GM’s truck sales declined 10 percent versus year-ago levels, calendar year-to-date sales remain at industry-record levels. GM led the industry in truck sales by over 18,000 units in November and over 461,000 units for the calendar year-to-date. GM’s truck sales are up 1 percent for the calendar year, and utility sales are up 6 percent through November. Launch vehicles, including the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, Chevrolet Equinox and Cadillac SRX drove the sales lift in those segments.

Full-Size Pickups

· With 58,214 full-size truck deliveries in November, GM’s lead over the competition is over 35,000 units for the calendar year-to-date. The combined November sales of Chevrolet Silverado and Avalanche and GMC Sierra accounted for 34 percent of the segment.

GM Utility Vehicles

· Although GM’s sport utility vehicle sales were down 10 percent in November, small and medium-luxury utilities had sales improvements. Small utility sales posted a monthly sales record with over 16,000 deliveries and a 112 percent improvement over year-ago levels. Medium-luxury utilities were up 39 percent. Medium utility sales are up 2 percent for the calendar year-to-date.

GM Cars

· While GM’s total car sales declined 17 percent compared to last year, several vehicles had year-over-year increases including Cadillac CTS and XLR and Pontiac Vibe. Chevrolet Aveo deliveries were up 88 percent, its second-best sales month since launch.


2004 Sales Calendar Year

Nov. Sales chg.* Share point chg.

GM 303,891 -12.8% -0.6

Ford 236,872 -3.5% -1.3

DCX 193,970 +9.9% +0.3

Toyota 154,435 +8.8% +0.8

Honda 95,524 +3.1% -0.0

Nissan 80,569 +30.9% +1.0

*Calculated on a selling days basis.


· Best-selling GM trucks: GM ranked three trucks on the industry’s Top 20 best-selling truck list for November: Chevrolet Silverado (#2), Chevrolet TrailBlazer (#5) and GMC Sierra (#7).

· Best-selling GM cars: GM ranked four cars on the industry’s Top 20 best-selling car list for November: Chevrolet Impala (#4), Chevrolet Cavalier (#7), Chevrolet Malibu (#8) and Pontiac Grand Prix (#13).


Divisional Sales Highlights

CADILLAC

· Cadillac’s calendar year-to-date sales are up 7 percent, with truck deliveries up 46 percent. Cadillac remains on pace for its best sales year since 1990.

· On the truck side, SRX deliveries in November were up 39 percent, and Escalade ESV sales improved 6 percent, setting a new November sales record

· Car sales were led by CTS, which continued its solid sales results with a 4 percent increase in November and XLR deliveries, which were up 2 percent.


CHEVROLET

· Although Chevrolet’s November sales were down, calendar year-to-date deliveries are up 4 percent. Chevrolet is on track to have its best sales year since 1988.

· Chevrolet car sales were up 8 percent in November, compared to year-ago levels, and were led by Malibu sales, which climbed 82 percent and Impala deliveries, which were up 28 percent. Aveo had its second-best sales month since launch.

· Equinox continues to build sales momentum with deliveries topping 10,000 units for the third month in a row.

GMC

· GMC remains on pace to achieve its best-ever sales year. Its sales pace is driven by record setting calendar year-to-date gains for Envoy and Sierra.

· The Envoy brand is well on its way to achieving an all-time annual sales record. Through November, Envoy has delivered 124,731 units, just 3,051 units short of its previous sales volume record.

· Yukon Denali and XL Denali remain on track to eclipse last year’s record-breaking sales.

HUMMER

· HUMMER had its best sales month for the calendar year, with 2,693 deliveries.

· H2 sales were 2,668, also the best monthly sales results for the calendar year.

· H2 SUT sales were the second highest since the SUT launch in June.

PONTIAC

· Bonneville GXP continues to sell well, accounting for 37 percent of all Bonneville retail sales in November.

· GTO has more than doubled its sales pace since the first half of the year.


SATURN

· The Vue, bolstered by sales of its Red Line version, continues its solid sales results with deliveries up 2 percent in November and 8 percent for the calendar year-to-date.

· Saturn’s November sales and calendar year-to-date sales are down due the discontinuation of the L-Series.

· The Relay, Saturn’s new crossover sport van, is arriving in dealers’ showrooms, and sales are off to a good start.

BUICK

· Buick’s November sales were down, however, Buick truck sales for the calendar year are up 16 percent.

· Sales of Buick’s all-new mid-size sedan, LaCrosse, are strengthening as production ramps up.

· Buick’s new crossover sport van, Terraza, posted good sales in its first month.

Street Talk

The following statement regarding the Chevrolet Corvette was written by Jim Healey, USA Today (Nov. 26, 2004):

“There’s obvious genius in the Corvette. And it’s not blazing speed or brain-boiling cornering forces. It’s the blend of racetrack potential and dutiful daily manners. It’s easy to do one or the other, but a formidable challenge to do what Corvette has – accomplish both without significantly compromising either.”