(February 2, 2016) DETROIT — General Motors’ Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac dealers in the United States delivered 203,745 vehicles in January, the company’s best January sales performance in eight years. GM’s retail sales were up sharply, climbing 9 percent year over year on the strength of a 12 percent increase at Chevrolet and a 45 percent increase at Buick. Total sales were up 0.5 percent.

“GM began 2016 in very strong competitive position,” said Kurt McNeil, GM’s U.S. vice president of sales operations. “We built on that momentum in January, with Chevrolet, Buick and GMC outperforming the retail industry by a wide margin. In fact, Chevrolet continues to grow faster than any other full-line brand.”

 Chevrolet gained close to 2 percentage points of retail market share in January after the brand had the largest retail market share increase of any full-line brand in 2015. It had its best January passenger car retail sales since 1997.
   
The Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra posted a combined 7 percent increase in total sales. GM grew full-size pickup market share faster than all other competitors in 2015.

Throughout 2015 and continuing into January, the GMC Sierra, Canyon, Yukon and Yukon XL have had the highest average transaction prices in their respective segments, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates.
   
Buick retail deliveries surged 45 percent in January, driven by owner loyalty.

“We believe industry fundamentals such as the age of the vehicle fleet, well managed inventory levels, firm used car pricing, good credit availability and low fuel prices will support higher industry sales in 2016,” said Mustafa Mohatarem, GM’s chief economist. “In addition, household balance sheets are strong and the labor market continues to improve.”

GM’s strong sales dovetailed with a strategic approach to inventories and fleet deliveries:

    • GM inventories are disciplined, and the company expects to operate with about a 70 days’ supply throughout the year in most months, with some months higher or lower.

    • GM’s Commercial sales are growing and daily rental sales are becoming a smaller part of the overall business.

    • As a result of lower rental deliveries, GM expects its fleet mix in 2016 to be about 20 percent, compared with a historical range of 22 – 24 percent.