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Cruze sales fell slightly in April
YOUNGSTOWN
Sales of the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze fell slightly in April but remained solid on the year, as General Motors reported a strong month of sales that indicated the company may not be as badly damaged by recent recalls as initially thought.
GM sold 21,752 units of the Cruze in April, down 1.3 percent from 22,032 for the period last year.
But in the first four months of 2014, Cruze sales totaled 86,937, an 11.8 percent increase from 77,763 during the same period in 2013.
GM recently announced new features and upgrades for the 2015 model year of the Cruze, which has held its ground in a competitive compact-car segment.
Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst for Edmunds.com, said bargain shoppers likely will take advantage of incen- tives as dealers discount the outgoing model year in advance of the 2015 Cruze’s fall rollout. But sales in the coming months would also be impacted by buyers’ holding out for the updated model year.
Robert Morales, president of United Auto Workers 1714, said officials tentatively scheduled one Saturday of production this month as the Cruze continues to perform well.
“The momentum is continuing, and we’re working to build off that momentum,” he said. “The hard work’s paying off at the plant.”
All of GM’s brands recorded gains in year-over-year sales for April, with Buick and Chevrolet reporting double-digit increases.
In total, GM sold 254,076 cars in April, a 6.9 percent increase from 237,646 a year ago.
Analysts expected GM to see a slowdown in sales after a series of high-profile recalls and a congressional probe into its handling of a decade-old ignition-switch defect linked to 13 deaths.
But the company’s April sales exceeded expectations, suggesting GM already may be well on its way to putting the ordeal behind it.
“I think it kind of shows there is a disconnect between the recalled vehicles and the current GM,” said Caldwell. She said traffic on the car-buying site never showed a drop-off for GM vehicles.
Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book, cited an 8 percent bump in sales made to individual owners as an indication “that GM’s current product portfolio is compelling enough to allow in-market consumers to look past GM’s recall woes.”
GM was aided by an uncharacteristically strong April for SUV and pickup sales. Typically, those vehicles sell well in the cold winter months, but sales generally turn in favor of small and compact cars in the spring.
The Buick Encore small SUV posted a 48 percent spike in sales, and the Chevrolet Silverado pickup, GM’s highest-selling vehicle, sold 42,755 units, an 8.5 percent bump from a year ago.
Harsh winter weather hampered U.S. auto sales during January and February, but the industry seemed to bounce back with a solid April.
Total sales jumped 8 percent to just shy of 1.4 million, and analysts said sales for the year are on pace to eclipse 16 million for the first time since 2007.
“If this keeps up, then we will be looking at a 16-plus [million] year,” Caldwell said.