May brought mixed news for GM Lordstown

LORDSTOWN

May was a mixed month for news at the General Motors Lordstown Assembly Complex.

While retail sales, or individual sales to customers, of the Lordstown-built Cruze were down 24.8 percent year-over-year to 9,950 from 13,238 sold in May 2016, union leaders were able to postpone a deceleration in the assembly-line speed, saving jobs, officials said.

Also, the complex won two UAW/GM People Make Quality Happen Team Awards.

“It feels good that our team is working together to make sure our customers are getting the very best product,” said Glenn Johnson, president of United Auto Workers Local 1112.

GM’s May total sales were 237,364 vehicles, down about 1 percent from last year. GM’s crossovers posted strong sales across all the automaker’s U.S. brands.

In total, there were 13,309 sedan Cruzes sold and 3,811 Mexico-built Cruze Hatchbacks – for total sales of 17,120.

GM has cut back on production of the Cruze this year because of consumers moving away from compact and midsize cars.

“I don’t think that’s a trend that will go away anytime soon,” said Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst for Edmunds.com. “It’s definitely a struggle. It’s a transition market in which everyone wants something a little bigger. It’s just going to be a tough market for those types of vehicles.”

Read more about the situation in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.