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Cruze sales up more than 25 percent in November
By Kalea Hall
LORDSTOWN
After four Novembers on the market, the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze had its best November yet with 22,857 sold this year.
The Cruze, competing in a tough compact-car segment, had an increase in sales of 25.6 percent over November 2013; overall Cruze sales are up for the year by 11 percent.
“I am just impressed that it is still at the forefront of our portfolio and we are still helping the company make money from it,” said Glenn Johnson, head of the United Auto Workers Local 1112 at the General Motors complex here.
The Cruze first went on the market in November 2010 when 8,066 were sold. The following November 13,238 sold. The Cruze saw another increase in November 2012 with 16,807 sold, and 18,200 were sold in November 2013.
“It has been a strong vehicle,” said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst for Autotrader.com. “It is popular for fleets and a wide range of people.”
Eric Lyman, vice president of industry insights for TrueCar, credits the Cruze’s success last month in part to GM’s overall success. Four years ago, Chevrolet had a “pretty poor reputation” for its passenger cars. Then came the Chevrolet Cruze, which replaced the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cobalt; the Sonic, which replaced the Aveo; and the Spark, which was a new model, he said. Impala is another vehicle that has improved.
“You have a full fleet of passenger cars that are legitimate contenders,” Lyman said. “Now, with the refreshed Cruze, you are sort of seeing another momentum.”
The 2015 Cruze, which hit the market this fall, comes with a face-lift and 4G LTE with Wi-Fi availability.
“I absolutely think GM has changed the consumer perceptions of the competitiveness and efficiency of small cars,” Lyman said.
Overall, segments across GM’s portfolio had a positive November.
U.S. dealers delivered 225,818 vehicles last month to make for the company’s best November sales in seven years. Total sales were up 6 percent compared with a year ago, retail sales were up 5 percent and fleet deliveries were up 11 percent.
GM estimates that the seasonally adjusted annual selling rate (SAAR) for light vehicles in November was 17.1 million, the highest November SAAR since 2003.
Up 23 percent, the GMC brand had its best November since 2001 and Buick had its best November since 2003. On the Chevrolet side, the Spark and Equinox also had a solid month of sales with the Spark up 64.3 percent and the Equinox up 0.8 percent to give each its best November yet. Silverado, another big seller in the Mahoning Valley outside of the Cruze, was up 24.5 percent from last November and had its best November since 2006.
“General Motors’ November sales signify the automaker’s continued success across a wide range of vehicle types,” said Karl Brauer, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book. “Expected gains in truck and SUV sales were paired with records for small cars like the Cruze and Spark, while higher transaction prices, especially for its large SUV offerings, are raising the company’s bottom line.”
Analysts said the numbers from auto manufacturers showed the consumers were out and took advantage of holiday shopping deals in November.
Greg Greenwood of Greenwood Chevrolet in Austintown said the afternoon on Black Friday was extremely busy.
“What seems to be happening on Black Friday is people are in a buying mood,” he said.
His top vehicles remain the Chevrolet Silverado, Equinox and Cruze.
Ford Motor Co.’s U.S. sales totaled 187,000 vehicles in November, which was down 2 percent from a year ago. Ford said the decline was anticipated, as Ford manages its inventory levels as vehicle availability starts growing for the all-new Ford Mustang, F-150 and transit models.
Chrysler Group LLC reported today U.S. sales of 170,839 units, a 20 percent increase compared with sales in November 2013 of 42,275 units, and the group’s best November sales since 2001. American Honda Motor Co. Inc. reported a November Honda and Acura vehicle sales record of 121,814 units, an increase of 4.6 percent over November 2013.
Toyota, Scion and Lexus reported total November 2014 sales results of 183,346 units, an increase of 3 percent from November 2013 on an unadjusted volume basis. Honda said when adjusted for 25 selling days in November 2014 versus 26 selling days in November 2013, sales increased 7.1 percent over a year ago.