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Larger vehicle trend continues
By Kalea Hall
LORDSTOWN
Despite the ongoing selling trend of sport utility vehicles, trucks and crossovers, the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze still posted sales of 20,947 in April.
But GM’s best-selling car took a hit of 3.7 percent from last April’s sales of 21,752.
United Auto Workers Local 1112 President Glenn Johnson said he’s happy when the sales come in at about 20,000 units.
“This late in the life cycle, it is amazing that we are at that,” Johnson said.
The Cruze was launched in 2010 and was refreshed last year. The next-generation Cruze is expected to make its arrival this year.
“I am excited,” Johnson said. “It is a beautiful vehicle.”
On Friday, GM reported April sales of 269,056, up 6 percent year-over-year. Retail deliveries were up 5 percent, fleet deliveries were up 8 percent and commercial sales were the highest since March 2008.
Both GM’s trucks and crossovers had double-digit sales increases in April. Trucks were up 13 percent, and crossovers, 25 percent.
The Chevrolet Equinox, which has been hot for local dealers, saw a 42 percent increase in sales. The Chevrolet Silverado, GM’s best seller for the month, saw an increase of 7.5 percent over last April with 45,978 sales.
Larry Dominique, TrueCar executive vice president for industry solutions, said most consumers at one time wanted to have a sedan and buying another vehicle was a compromise, and now the trend has shifted.
Larger vehicles “really have become a no-compromise alternative to sedans,” he said. “I really think they are here to stay.”
What’s positive for the compact-car segment, which includes the Cruze, is that it is still a huge, high-volume market.
Dominique thinks the Cruze is a great car, but there is room for improvement to differentiate it from the rest of the compact cars on the market.
“GM has put a lot of energy into improving the Malibu,” Dominique said. “Given what they have done with the Malibu, I think the Cruze will do well, too.”
Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Alec Gutierrez said even if the gas prices jump he doesn’t expect to see much of a change in the larger-vehicle trend because of the fuel-efficient offerings out there today.
“To me, it seems like there’s a natural demand for SUVs,” he said.
Across the board, not one manufacturer’s April sales particularly stood out to analysts. What has stood out are the overall sales that impact the year’s sales projection. TrueCar upped its projection from 17 million sales to 17.1 million sales after a strong first quarter. The last time sales reached that was 14 years ago, Dominique said.
TrueCar also looks at revenue generated from auto sales. For April, new-car sales revenue came in at more than $40 billion. For the year it is expected to go beyond $550 billion.
“This is an unbelievable industry,” Dominique said.
Outside of GM, Fiat Chrysler Jeep reported U.S. sales of 189,027 units, a 6 percent increase compared with 178,652 sales in April 2014, and the group’s best April sales since 2007. The Chrysler, Jeep and Ram truck brands each posted year-over-year sales gains in April compared with the same month a year ago.
Ford Motor Co. had a 5 percent increase in total U.S. sales in April with 222,498 vehicles sold. Retail sales grew 7 percent, while fleet sales were up 1 percent. It was the company’s best April retail sales in nine years.
Toyota Motor Corp. reported a 1.8 percent sales increase with 203,329 units sold in April. Both the RAV4 and Highlander had record sales for the manufacturer.