Lordstown's Chevy Cruze sales up about 45 percent

By KALEA HALL

khall@vindy.com

DETROIT

Four years of production and more than a million Chevrolet Cruzes later and General Motors’ best-selling car still continues to shine.

Last month 18,415 Cruzes were delivered compared to 12,730 in September 2013 — a 44.7 percent increase.

For the year, Cruze deliveries are up 6.3 percent with 208,114 units delivered compared with 195,775 at this time in 2013.

“In 10 months we are right on that 20k per month [mark],” said Glenn Johnson, head of the United Auto Workers Local 1112. “I think that speaks volumes.”

It speaks volumes not only for the car but also for the thousands of GM Lordstown workers, he said.

It is an exciting time for the Cruze with the 2015 model just out the door last week. The new Cruze comes with a face-lift and with access to 4G LTE with Wi-Fi availability, among other amenities. Also, in a couple of weeks the UAW Local 1112 and UAW Local 1714 will auction off the millionth Cruze made this summer.

“The Cruze remains wildly popular,” said Greg Greenwood of Greenwood Chevrolet.

Overall, GM increased sales 19 percent and delivered 223,437 vehicles in the U.S. in September. Retail deliveries, or sales to individual customers, increased 17 percent from last year, and fleet deliveries were up 30 percent. GM also saw the 11th-consecutive monthly increase in commercial sales.

“I would be surprised if [the local sales numbers] aren’t equally as strong,” Greenwood said. “[The national] numbers are very encouraging because I think GM is doing a lot of things right.”

Analysts saw September as a strong month for the auto industry once again. Karl Brauer, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book, mentioned the market still shows customers embracing trucks and SUVs, but surprisingly small and midsize cars still packed a punch in September sales.

“The Malibu, Cruze and Sonic all were up in September, even as those categories lose share to the small and midsize SUV categories,” Brauer said. “Add in the high transaction prices GM is garnering for its large SUVs, including the Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon and Escalade, and you’ve got a company seeing broad success without an undue reliance on specific vehicle types or aggressive incentives.”

Brauer also said the Cruze’s increase in sales as its market segment is under pressure is “very impressive.”

Some other September highlights for GM include: GMC sales were up 28 percent; Cadillac Escalade sales more than doubled; the Chevrolet Silverado had its best sales month since 2008 with 50,176 units delivered; overall Chevrolet deliveries were up 20 percent; Buick deliveries increased by 12 percent; GM compact car deliveries were also up 30 percent, and year-to-date sales were the highest since 2005; and GM posted a 25 percent gain in commercial sales driven by pickups and vans.

Ford Motor Co. U.S. sales totaled 180,175 vehicles in September, which was down 3 percent from a year ago. Toyota, Scion and Lexus reported total September 2014 sales results of 167,279 units, an increase of 1.7 percent from September 2013. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. reported September 2014 Honda and Acura sales of 118,223 units, which is an increase of 12 percent over September 2013. Chrysler Group LLC reported a 19-percent increase compared with 169,890 units sold in the U.S.