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Cruze sales up in January, despite the weather
YOUNGSTOWN
Even as sales across the auto industry fell short of analysts’ expectations last month, the Cruze posted its best-ever January sales figures, according to data released Monday by General Motors.
Sales of the Lordstown-built compact increased by 16 percent to 16,828 in January, compared with 14,524 during the same period a year ago.
It continued to rank as GM’s second-best-selling model, trailing only the Chevrolet Silverado pickup, which was named the North American Truck of the Year at last month’s North American International Auto Show.
The Silverado sold 28,926 units last month, an 18.4 per- cent decrease in the year-over-year comparison.
The Cruze’s success stood out in a month when harsh winter weather took a toll on the bottom lines of the major domestic automakers.
GM delivered 171,586 vehicles across all of its brands in January, a 12 percent decrease from the same month last year. Retail deliveries of passenger cars were up slightly, but retail sales dropped 10 percent compared with last January.
Fleet deliveries declined by 18 percent last month, as GM continues a planned reduction in rental car sales.
The other two top-selling U.S. companies — Ford and Toyota — also saw their sales drop with the temperatures in January.
Chrysler, Honda, Nissan, Subaru and Hyundai posted gains, while the industry saw double-digit gains in the West.
“We can’t stop talking about the weather,” said Eric Lyman, vice president of editorial and partner development at Automotive Lease Guide. “It’s infinitely more difficult when the weather is difficult and there’s a moratorium on driving, except in emergencies,” he said.
Sales results were still coming in Monday afternoon, but Lyman expected January’s results to fall below industry expectations.
But Lyman characterized the January numbers as an “anomaly” and said he still expects sales on the year to exceed 16.2 million for the first time since the economic downturn.
As January sales dropped, GM’s average transaction price rose 2.1 percent compared with last January, according to Kelley Blue Book. Analysts said that is representative of a push to scale back incentives and increase the long-term value of GM products.
“The automaker appears resolute in its plan to curtail incentive spending, even at the expense of total sales and market share,” Karl Brauer, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book, said in a statement. “If GM can maintain profitability and transaction prices while stabilizing its overall sales numbers, it will be in a stronger financial position and it’s models will benefit from higher resale values.”
That added value could help the Cruze as it moves toward an eventual redesign.
Though the Cruze hasn’t had an update since 2010, Lyman said it is “still a very strong product,” despite higher transaction prices, in a competitive segment where some models have faltered lately.
Sales of the Toyota Corolla have been down, and the Chevy Malibu suffered from a rocky rollout of its new model.
But Lyman said strong sales for the Cruze are not reason to hold off on a redesign, as models such as the Mazda3 have benefited in efficiency and styling from a number of popular new high-tech features.
“For every Corolla, there’s a Mazda3 that’s going to put pressure on the Cruze,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story