Chart Of The Day: GM's Gradual Car Sales Decrease
GM passenger car volume decreased 15% through the first two months of 2015 in the United States, tumbling by more than 18,000 units, or 21%, in February alone.
With vastly improved U.S. pickup truck volum e, steadily growing full-size SUV sales, and growth from the brand’s crossovers, GM was easily able to overcome the car deficit to post a 10% overall sales improvement in America through the end of February.
This chart doesn’t showcase volume or year-over-year change, but it does show the decreased importance of GM car sales in America since the beginning of last year. For the record, rewinding ten years to the 2005 calendar year reveals GM’s car share to be just above 40%. In 2010, it was ever so slightly below 40%.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures.
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Has GM finally figured out that selling rebadged Opel and Daewoos don't work. When the obama administration forced GM to cancel both pontaic and saturn it forever doomed GM to under 20% marketshare. I believe now GM's marketshare is hovering around 16.5 to 17%. Both Ford and Toyota are in striking distance. Remember, when wagoner had that company pep rally to motivate GM employees to work towards a 30% marketshare. I think pins with the tag line "30%" were distributed to empolyees. In last twenty years it looks as if GM has lost 15% of the market. If there is another GM deathwatch it should include GM losing the domestic market to either Ford or Toyota. Without the 300,000 additional vehicles both Saturn and Pontaic would have provided GM is extremely vulnerable to carmakers that have sudden sales streaks. All it would take is sudden surge in F-150, Fusion, and Mustang sales for Ford to regain the U.S. sales crown that it lost some 90 years ago.
You make some valid points, but the fact remains GM's marketshare is 17%. I didn't bash GM cars themselves, but stated the company's cars sales have never been lower. This was the whole premise of the editorial. GM will almost certainly survive, but it will be a much smaller company. I believe the deathwatch is not about extinction, but greatly reduced expectations. It just seems like death because the decline is so dramatic. For example, In just 15 years GM has lost market share equivalent in size to FCA's entire North American operations!
Yes reduced capacity lead to reduced market share. That is what I have been saying all along..
I spent 35 years in a GM store and they had to reduce capacity as they could not find enough buyers for all the product that liberal UAW contracts forced them to build. They have been whoreing out vehicles to Enterprise and other rental and government agencies at near or below cost for decades in an attempt to unload excess production after they had forced all the excess unwanted inventory off on dealers thru blackmail and extortion tactics. Even now they are still the rental car kings since their cars are still to this day not world class in features or quality much less resale value . If you want to evaluate a vehicle just look at its value after three years as a percent of its MSRP . GM cars have been horrible in holding their value . I have friends who used to buy or lease Cadillacs but can lease a Lexus, BMW or Mercedes for a better deal than A Cad . GM's present market share is by design to try and tighten up roduction to match real retail demand to allow them to achieve a higher transaction price which in Factory speak is to reduce cash on the hood and other bribes to get you to buy their POS . Last year GM relented on trying to stand firm on Highly inflated truck prices when the 2014 Silverado pretty much stalled out early in the launch of the 2014 new reskinned truck. Ram even beat Chevrolet Silverado I believe in April 2014 . That is unheard of GM is still the Titanic of the automobile business . The bankruptcy was the impact with the Iceberg and now the orchestra is playing bravely as the seawater is starting to make its way thru the ship. I have learned that the reason that they have cut back starting in 2016 their 5 year , 100 thousand mile power train warranty to 5 years 60k is to curtail a growing disaster in warranty expense .