Cruze sales dip for second straight month

Cruze sales dip for second straight month

Sales of the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze dropped for the second straight month, down by 15.9 percent in October compared to a year earlier.

General Motors sold 16,087 Cruzes in October, compared to 19,121 in October 2012.

In September, amid a softening U.S. auto market, stiff competition from other small cars and a decline in fleet sales, Cruze deliveries dropped by 50 percent in one of the worst sales months in the car’s history.

At the time, analysts weren’t expecting a strong rebound in Cruze sales and said a downward trend could become more evident if sales continued to drop through the end of the year.

The Cruze still remains one of the company’s best sellers and the U.S. auto market is shifting from robust to stable growth, said Jesse Toprak an analyst at the automotive information website TrueCar.com.

Sales were up 16 percent across all of GM’s brands. The company said Friday that it sold 226,402 vehicles in October.

“Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick-GMC all performed well in the month, and the sales tempo really picked up after the government shutdown ended,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president of U.S. sales operations. “We are particularly pleased with our truck momentum. Chevrolet and GMC have the newest and best light duty trucks, sales are accelerating and we are gearing up for the second, third and fourth phases of our strategic truck plan.”

Despite a swirl of economic uncertainty prompted by a government shutdown that lasted for more than two weeks and ended on Oct. 17, TrueCar.com estimates that overall October U.S. auto sales will increase by 8 percent year-over-year.