G.M. Sales Rose 6.4% in April
By NICK BUNKLEY
Published: May 3, 2010
DETROIT — Automakers are entering the heart of the traditional spring selling season with considerably more momentum than a year ago.
New-vehicle sales in the United States last month were expected to be about 20 percent higher than in April 2009, when Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection and General Motors was headed toward the same fate.
G.M. said Monday that its sales increased 6.4 percent from a year ago over all and that sales by the four brands it continues to operate were up 20 percent. The company said newly introduced models, like the Chevrolet Equinox crossover and Buick LaCrosse sedan, accounted for one of every four vehicles sold to individual buyers.
“Clearly, our launch vehicles are hitting the mark with consumers,” Steve Carlisle, vice president for G.M.’s United States sales operations, said in a statement. “The good news is that we have more on the way, including the all-new Buick Regal this spring and the Chevrolet Cruze in the third quarter.”
Sales of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC are up 31 percent so far this year, as G.M. prepares to sell Saab and to shut down the Hummer, Pontiac and Saturn brands.
Other automakers, including Ford Motor and Toyota, are scheduled to report their April sales Monday afternoon.
Big discounts, led by Toyota’s efforts to overcome the damaging effects of its big recalls, have been drawing more consumers into showrooms. More than 70 percent of Toyota buyers in March received no-interest financing, and vehicles like the Prius hybrid car, which sold for its sticker price as recently as a year ago, are selling for thousands of dollars less now in many cases.
Automakers said industry sales slowed somewhat in late April, after the novelty of the deals began to wear off and some companies cut back slightly on the discounts. But dealerships are still seeing many more customers than they did a year ago, with consumer confidence levels rising in April to the highest level since 2008.
G.M. executives said sales were recovering from last year’s recessionary levels in line with expectations, even as the housing market remains weak.
Analysts expect the discounting to continue well into the summer.
“Toyota might back away from incentives next month to test the market,” Brian A. Johnson, an analyst with Barclays Capital, wrote in a note to clients last week, “but if it perceives lasting damage to its brand, we believe the automaker could be back with more offers, since it has signaled recently that it will do whatever is required to achieve a 16.7 percent market share for the year in line with its 2008 performance.”
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