USA - 2.8 million sold in the US for General Motors Co.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) dealers delivered 2.8 million vehicles in the United States in 2013. Retail sales increased 11 percent and total sales were up 7 percent compared with 2012.

Dealers delivered 230,157 vehicles in December, down 6 percent versus a year ago. Retail sales were down 6 percent and fleet sales were down 9 percent.

“2013 was the year that GM and the auto industry put the last traces of the recession in the rearview mirror, so now we can devote our full attention to the things that matter most to customers: compelling design, world-class quality and delivering the best ownership experience in the business,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president, U.S. sales operations. “GM has laid a strong foundation to pursue all of these goals. We have announced more than $10 billion in capital investments in the United States since 2009 and plowed billions more into R&D to refresh our product portfolio at twice the rate of the last few years.”

Major upcoming launches include all-new large SUVs for Cadillac, GMC and Chevrolet, the award-winning Cadillac ELR and all-new heavy-duty and mid-size pickups for Chevrolet and GMC.

In addition, GM will begin the industry’s largest deployment of high-speed mobile broadband later this year. Additional details will be released at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week.

2013 Highlights (versus 2012)

• GM became the first American auto company in history to top the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study, with eight individual model awards, including five for Chevrolet.
• Chevrolet redesigned iconic products, including the Silverado 1500, Corvette and Impala, all of which won numerous awards for product excellence.
• Cadillac finished the year as the industry’s fastest-growing full-line luxury brand.
• Buick had its best sales year since 2006 as the brand expanded into new segments with the Verano sedan and the Encore small crossover.
• The all-new Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 helped the company increase its full-size pickup sales by 14 percent. 
• GMC sales were the strongest since 2007, and the Sierra now has the highest average transaction prices of any full-size pickup truck line in the industry, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates.
• Overall, GM’s share of the $40,000 and up light-duty pickup segment, which is about one-third of the market, has increased 7 percentage points to 36 percent.
• Combined sales of GM’s mini, small and compact cars increased by 10 percent, bolstered by best-ever sales of the Chevrolet Sonic and Cruze, and a remarkable year for the new Chevrolet Spark, which saw more than 34,000 deliveries. 
• Crossover deliveries were strong all year long, increasing by 14 percent. New products like the Buick Encore drove the growth along with stalwarts like the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain, which had their best sales years ever.  The GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave also had their best years ever.

December Sales Highlights (vs. 2012)

• Sales in the fourth quarter increased 6 percent and December’s volume was the highest since August. 
• The Chevrolet Corvette had its best December sales since 2006.
• The redesigned Chevrolet Malibu and the all-new Impala were up 33 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
• Crossover and SUV sales were strong, with the Chevrolet Traverse and Tahoe, and the GMC Acadia and Yukon XL all posting higher sales. The Acadia was up 53 percent, for its best-ever December.
• Small business customers took delivery of 26,231 vehicles in December up 20 percent. For the year, small business deliveries were up 35 percent. 

“December started a little slow but sales were stronger later in the month, especially in the week between Christmas and New Year’s,” McNeil said.  “We didn’t make any big changes to our ‘go-to-market’ strategy during the month, which is to offer competitive incentives and market aggressively, and we are carrying good momentum heading into January.”