Vehicle Sales:

CYTD-June vehicle sales were up 3%. Domestic automakers posted share decreases for the period. GM's vehicle share dipped 1.0 percentage point, car share decreased 2.1 percentage points and truck share rose 0.2 percentage points.  

GM continues to improve its total vehicle mix, which in recent months has been heavily weighted toward trucks. For the mid-year period, cars accounted for 51% of total sales versus 53% in the year-ago period, and trucks accounted for 49% up from 47% a year ago.  

On a retail basis through May (most recent data available), GM truck sales outpaced the industry accounting for 54% of the company's sales. For the industry excluding GM, trucks accounted for 52% of total sales for the period. (see chart) During the first six months of this year, GM posted sales and share increases in its core segments -- midsize cars, full-size utilities, full-size pickups and medium utilities. GM sales of vehicles in core segments accounted for 60% of total GM sales, which were up 4% for the period. GM's total industry market share of core segments was 34%, up a point from the year-ago period.

Car Sales

GM car sales for the first six months of the year decreased 1%.  

GM strengthened its leading position in the core midsize segment by 9% and 1.3 share points during the period. February and June were the two best overall months for GM in midsize car sales since May 1996. February midsize sales outpaced June by 641 units and one-tenth of a share point.  

GM ranked 11 cars on the industry's top 30 best selling car list in the June-CYTD period: Chevrolet Cavalier (#7); Chevrolet Malibu (#8); Pontiac Grand Am (#9); Saturn S-series (#11); Chevrolet Impala (#12); Buick Century (#13); Pontiac Grand Prix (#15); Buick LeSabre (#17); Oldsmobile Alero (#18); Chevrolet Monte Carlo (#24); Cadillac DeVille (#27). 

Truck Sales

GM increased truck sales 8% during the first six months and raised its share by 0.2 percentage points. GM was the only domestic automaker to gain truck share in the six-month period.  

GM posted gains in every utility segment. Total GM utility share is up 1.4%. Six GM utility brands posted a best half-year ever -- Cadillac Escalade; Chevrolet Blazer; Chevrolet Suburban; GMC Jimmy; GMC Yukon XL; and Oldsmobile Bravada. (see chart) GM ranked eight trucks on the industry's top 30 best selling truck list in the June-CYTD period: Chevrolet Silverado (#2); Chevrolet Blazer (#9); Chevrolet S-10 Pickup (#10); GMC Sierra (#12); Chevrolet Tahoe (#16); Chevrolet Suburban (#20); Chevrolet Astro (#26); and Chevrolet Venture (#29). 

Division Sales Highlights

Note: Division sales highlights include data for June, the second quarter, and the June-CYTD period.  

Buick

Overall, Buick sales improved 4% in June 2000 compared to June 1999 (44,705 units vs. 43,042 units), led by Regal with a 12% jump (7,359 vs. 6,583). 

LeSabre sales increased 7% percent (16,146 vs. 15,154) and Century sales grew 6%t (16,377 vs. 15,433). In the competitive midsize segment, increased sales of Buick's Regal and Century models helped Buick claim additional market share, increasing by 0.5 of a percentage point to 6.2% percent of the midsize market in June 2000 compared to June 1999.  

LeSabre: LeSabre maintained its position as the best-selling full-size car in America, holding a 36.8% share of the large car segment, up 0.8 percentage points from June-CYTD 1999 period. Century: Best June in 13 years. 

Cadillac

During the first six months of the year, Cadillac placed third in the luxury sales race with sales of 97,739 units, trailing Lincoln (101,024) and Mercedes Benz (100,399).  

For the month of June, Cadillac placed fourth among luxury automakers with 16,049 deliveries. Mercedes Benz placed first with 17,919, Lincoln second with 17,130 and Lexus third with 16,207.  

Escalade: Sales remain strong for the first six months of 2000. Escalade sales grew 46% for the first six months of 1999 and Escalade holds 25% of the market segment for June-CYTD.  

DeVille: June-CYTD sales were up 13% and DeVille holds 38% of the large luxury segment for June-CYTD, up 5.1 percentage points from 1999.  

Catera: Due in large part to a competitive lease offer, Catera recorded its best June ever with sales up 106 percent over June 1999.

Chevrolet

Midsize Cars: In the industry's largest segment -- midsize cars -- Chevrolet midsize cars (Impala, Malibu, Monte Carlo) have gained more market share (4.0 percentage points) than any other manufacturer in the six-month period. Combined sales of Chevrolet midsize cars have increased more than 24%, that's more than their nearest competitors.  

Impala: Impala sales for the first six months of 2000 have already exceeded sales for the entire 1999 calendar year. Impala just finished its best quarter (46,994 sales) since the vehicle was reintroduced in April 1999.  

Truck Lineup: With Chevy truck sales up 8% to 921,665 in the record June-CYTD period, Chevy trucks are on track for their best year in history for the fifth consecutive year.  

Tracker: June-CYTD sales of the Tracker (25,388) increased 46%, marking the greatest percentage increase in the small sport utility vehicle segment. 

Oldsmobile

• Alero: Best ever June - Best ever Q2 - Best ever June-CYTD

• Aurora: Best month ever - Best ever Q2

• Bravada: Best June ever - Best ever June-CYTD

• Silhouette: Best ever June-CYTD

Pontiac-GMC

Pontiac Brands:  

Bonneville: June-CYTD sales were up 7% from year-ago period.

Grand Prix: Grand Prix sales were down 2% in June, June-CYTD sales were down 0.2% -- a strong performance for a product in the fifth year of its model cycle.

Firebird: Firebird sales were down 8% for the month (approximately 250 units). Despite the overall decrease, June sales of the V8 Formula and Trans Am models increased 2%. Regular Sport Segment sales were up 22% in June.  

GMC Brands:  

GMC Division: Best ever Q2 - Best ever June-CYTD

Jimmy/Envoy: Sales were up for the 9th consecutive month in June. The increase was 1% over last June. The Jimmy also posted a best June-CYTD period. 

• GMC Savana: Best June ever - Best ever Q2 - Best ever June-CYTD

• GMC Large Utilities: Best ever Q2 - Best ever June-CYTD

• GMC Medium Vans: Best ever June-CYTD

• GMC Yukon XL: Best ever June-CYTD

Saturn

Saturn Corporation: Best June ever - Best ever Q2 - Best ever June-CYTD

L-series: Best month (June) since introduction

Note: GM sources sales data (including competitive data) from Ward's Communications on a monthly basis. GM sources retail registration data from R. L. Polk Co.(retail registration data is presently available through May.)

(July 12, 2000)