igor Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 (edited) GM Sales Mgr: June Fleet Sales Up 20%, Retail Slides 35% Monday July 03 2006 9:47pm General Motors Corp. (GM) sales analysis manager Paul Ballew said Monday that 25% of GM's June vehicle sales were to fleet customers, such as rental-car firms and government agencies, allowing the auto maker to post better-than-expected numbers during the month. GM sales to fleet customers increased 20% in June compared with the same period last year when GM sold relatively few vehicles to fleet buyers, Ballew said. Year to date, fleet sales remain about 'flat' with year-ago numbers, he said, but Ballew insists the company will 'pull back' from certain types of fleet sales as the year progresses. GM's sales strategy includes having a greater emphasis on increasing profitable retail sales, but it is struggling thus far as buyers continue to flock to Japanese competitors and GM offers lower incentives than it has in the recent past. In June, GM's retail sales slipped 35%, and through six months retail sales have fallen 16%. A year ago, GM's monthly retail sales sizzled thanks to the employee-discount-for-everyone incentive scheme it launched. The scheme led to record sales during certain summer months, but left showrooms nearly empty later in the year due to the pull-ahead effect of employee deals that were discontinued late in the summer. This year, GM has vowed to stay away from employee deals even as rival Chrysler Group, the U.S. arm of DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX), offers an employee campaign. Ballew said GM is not 'comfortable' with following Chrysler's lead and insisted the auto maker will stay true to its initiative to offer lower incentives. He said occasional inventory clearance sales, such as a 0% financing offer currently available to GM buyers, will continue to be offered on a periodic basis. Despite the sales decline, GM saw its 'strongest retail selling rate since last summer' and managed to grab an expected 27% market share in June, representing its best monthly share position of the year. Link (does not show well in FireFox - use IE) My source and good discussion: http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33738 Disturbing. EDITSIDENOTE: June seems to be THE delivery month for Fleet vehicles - rental or otherwise, moreover it seems last year GM deliverd virtualyl no vehicles to Fleets, because of the inventory strain thanks to Employee pricing - so this might not be as bad as it seems. Igor Edited July 6, 2006 by igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc-o Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 This is SO typical of GM. They've got a long history of smoothing out sales by selling to fleets at just the right time. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but it does seem like they are being completely unsuccessful in significantly reducing their fleet sales. Yeah yeah they will go down later in the year... hello?! The year is halfway through and they're still running even with last year's numbers. The way I see it comparing any numbers to last year's never-before heard of sale is misleading. The main point I get out of this is GM is still relying quite heavily on fleet sales to keep its plants running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I haven't looked but how badly is the GMT9000 SUV's doing these days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 they are not a home run as predicted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 well compared to Expedition which fell 50% and sol less that 7k last month.. they are doing allright Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SobeSVT Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Do you think that the new Expedition is going to make things better for Ford in that segment or the crash down will simply continue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted July 9, 2006 Author Share Posted July 9, 2006 Do you think that the new Expedition is going to make things better for Ford in that segment or the crash down will simply continue? I can see it going either way - I really do not know .. Expy is far superior to Tahoe, but the styling might tank the way the Explorer tanked. Moreover, Ford would need to spend A LOT of $$$ on advertising, the way GM did during the Turin Olympics and I am not sure it is worth it... At this point, I have no clue how Ford trucks will do - there have been so many weird things happening in SUV sales lately (why is 4runner up while has nothing to offer over the like of Cherokee and Explorer - for example)... so I am lost... BTW Sobe Welcome - I have been reading your posts at GMI. Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g48150 Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 At this point, I have no clue how Ford trucks will do - there have been so many weird things happening in SUV sales lately (why is 4runner up while has nothing to offer over the like of Cherokee and Explorer - for example)... so I am lost... Ahhh, a customer focused vehicle (4-Runner) attaining higher sales than one that is mass-marketed (GMT900)? Don't get me wrong, its not over, Toyota got a good jumpstart, but target customer happiness, these days, are only a mouse click or two away (JD Power survey w/ Hyundai #3). ------------------------------------------------------------- Target Customer is #1, you have been warned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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