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Article Excerpt
DETROIT, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- General Motors dealers sold 353,117 new cars and trucks in February, up 6 percent compared to February 2003. GM's truck sales (196,106) were up 4 percent and car sales (157,011) were up 9 percent.
"GM's February sales improved nicely compared to last month and the prior year, giving us momentum as we move into the spring selling season," said John Smith, group vice president, GM North America Vehicle, Sales, Service and Marketing. "We continued to achieve sales increases in growing areas of the business -- trucks and luxury vehicles -- led by strong performances at Cadillac, GMC and Chevrolet. We also saw sales gains by important car entries like the Cadillac CTS and Pontiac Grand Prix."
GM Truck Sales
Sales of GM's industry-leading truck lineup continued at a strong pace in February. Total truck sales were up 4 percent, led by deliveries of full-size pickups (68,679), which improved 5.5 percent and led the industry. Sales of Chevrolet full-size pickups (54,481) were up 4 percent compared to a year ago, and GMC Sierra sales (14,198) improved 12 percent. Deliveries of GM large utilities (33,440) were up 31 percent, led by the Chevrolet Tahoe (13,760), up 29 percent and record sales of GMC Yukon (6,837), which gained 52 percent.
GM Car Sales
GM's total car deliveries were up 9 percent compared to February 2003. Deliveries of entry-level vehicles (36,110) improved 9 percent, paced by Chevrolet Cavalier sales (21,092), up 23 percent, record Saturn ION deliveries (7,723), which gained 5 percent, and Pontiac Sunfire (3,261), which improved 52 percent. Sales increases also were achieved by Cadillac CTS (4,838), which was 36 percent above year-ago levels and established a new monthly record and Chevrolet Corvette (2,382), which was up 38 percent.
Divisional Highlights
Chevrolet - Total Chevrolet sales in February were 200,232, up 10 percent from last year. Car deliveries (75,877) were up 32.5 percent, with gains by Cavalier (21,092), up 23 percent and Corvette (2,382), up 38 percent. Chevrolet full-size trucks continued to show sales strength. Tahoe deliveries (13,760) were up 29 percent, and Suburban sales (8,618) were up 26 percent. Silverado had a solid month with 48,136 deliveries, up 9 percent.
Cadillac - Cadillac sales (16,983) improved 10 percent from year-ago levels. Truck deliveries (6,392) established a new monthly record and were up 66 percent as a result of strong sales of the Escalade portfolio (4,109) and the new SRX (2,283). Escalade ESV sales (953) were up 11 percent and set a new February record. Cadillac passenger car deliveries were paced by record CTS sales (4,838), a 36 percent improvement.
GMC - GMC continued to build on its 2003 record performance. February sales (41,467) increased 14 percent over year-ago results. Sierra sales (14,198) were up 12 percent. Yukon sales established a new monthly record with 6,837 deliveries, a 52 percent gain. Yukon XL sales (4,225) were up 20 percent.
HUMMER - HUMMER sales totaled 2,141 units, up 20 percent from January, as inventory gets replenished from December's extremely high sales volumes. H2 deliveries were 2,103.
Pontiac - Pontiac sales were up 19.5 percent with 39,297 deliveries. Car sales (34,404) were up 30 percent in February, with Grand Prix deliveries (13,132) up 91 percent, Grand Am (11,192) improved 9 percent, and Sunfire (3,261) was 52 percent above year-ago levels. GTO had 606 deliveries.
Saturn - VUE posted a new monthly sales record with 6,539 deliveries, a 33.5 percent gain over last February. ION deliveries (7,732) improved 5 percent and established a new monthly record.
Certified Used Vehicles
February sales for all GM certified used vehicle brands, including GM Certified Used Vehicles, Cadillac, Saturn and Saab, were 42,887 units, up 12 percent from year-ago levels.
GM Certified Used Vehicles, the industry's top-selling manufacturer- certified used brand, led the way with record February sales of 36,336 units, a 12 percent increase over February 2003 and the strongest single-month sales performance for any brand in the history of the certified used segment. Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles had 2,632 sales in February, comparable to last year. Used Cars from Saturn sold 3,219 units, up 11 percent. Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles had 711 sales, up 61 percent.
"GM Certified Used Vehicles continued its outstanding sales momentum in 2004 with an increase of 12 percent and a single-month sales record for the certified segment," Smith said. "Across all of GM's certified brands, including Cadillac, Saab and Saturn, sales also were up 12 percent."
GM North America Announces February Production Results and Initial 2004 Second-Quarter Production Forecast; 2004 First-Quarter Production Forecast Remains Unchanged
In February, GM North America produced 436,000 vehicles (173,000 cars and 263,000 trucks) in North America, compared to 478,000 vehicles (192,000 cars and 286,000 trucks) produced in February 2003. Production totals include joint venture production of 9,500 vehicles in February 2004 and 14,400 vehicles in February 2003.
GM North America's current 2004 first-quarter production forecast remains unchanged at 1.35 million vehicles (523,000 cars and 827,000 trucks)....
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