Lordstown’s Cobalt sales up again

GM’s market share is up a percentage point from a year ago.

STAFF/WIRE REPORTS

Sales of the Chevrolet Cobalt rose for the third straight month when compared with last year.

General Motors Corp. said Thursday that it sold 16,505 Cobalts in the U.S. in October, nearly double what it sold in the same month last year.

October 2006 was one of the worst months ever for the Cobalt, with sales of just 8,772. Car dealers said last fall that sales were down because of a lack of incentives on the car and reduced supplies after GM eliminated the midnight shift at GM’s Lordstown complex, where the car is made.

Despite the positive month for the Cobalt, its sales so far this year are lagging last year’s totals. GM sold 169,400 Cobalts in the first 10 months of the year, which was 10 percent less than during the same period last year.

GM said earlier this year that sales totals were down because it was selling fewer cars to rental car fleets.

October also was a good month for the other car made in Lordstown, the Pontiac G5. Sales of that model totaled 2,519 in October, up from 1,341 in October 2006.

Overall, GM’s sales rose 3.3 percent — the automaker’s third consecutive monthly increase. Its car sales were flat compared with last October, and truck sales were up 5.8 percent.

Paul Ballew, GM’s executive director of global market and industry analysis, said in a conference call that the company’s 25 percent share of the market also has been consistent for the past several months and up a full share point from a year ago.

“We’re feeling pretty good we’re able to buck industry trends ... and post sales increases on the retail side as well as total sales,” he said.

Ballew said a large part of the sales gain is linked to new products, including the “blistering start” to the Cadillac CTS. He said it helped drive Cadillac’s 9 percent sales increase for the month, its best of the year.

Ford’s U.S. sales fell 9.3 percent in October, leaving it slightly behind rival Toyota, which reported a 4.5 percent sales increase for last month.

Ford Motor Co.’s sales declined to 194,762, extending a weak performance that the automaker blames largely on pulling back on low-profit sales to rental car companies.

Ford said Thursday its car sales dropped 26 percent compared with last October, while its truck sales were up 1.2 percent.

George Pipas, Ford’s top sales analyst, said in a conference call with reporters and analysts, said retail sales nearly matched levels of the same period year ago, and the automaker is pleased with its retail market share — consistent for several months at about 13 percent.

“After years of decline,” Pipas said, “it was important to arrest that and do it on the backs of new products. ... We’re certainly on the way to having delivered consistent retail performance in the market for individual customers month after month after month.”

Toyota Motor Corp., meanwhile, said it sold 197,592 vehicles in the U.S. last month. Its car sales rose 2.7 percent and its truck sales were up 6.9 percent. Toyota is expected to overtake Ford as the No. 2 automaker in annual U.S. sales after GM this year.