Welcome to the Business Journal Archives
Search for articles below, or continue to the all new BusinessJournalDaily.com now.
Search
Cobalt Drives GM's Car Sales Higher in January
DETROIT -- Labor and management at General Motors Corp.'s Lordstown complex can take a bow for a job well done, as the launch of the new Chevrolet Cobalt was largely responsible for fueling the automaker's overall increase in car sales last month.New car sales at GM rose 2% in January, the company reported yesterday, citing strong sales of the Lordstown-produced Cobalt as a significant factor. Chevrolet's total vehicle sales were up 13% in January, with a 33% improvement in car sales. Entry-level car sales were up 9%, led by the Cobalt and Aveo. Cobalt sales jumped 32% over December. Aveo sales in January were nearly triple its year-ago level. "Chevrolet and Cadillac enjoyed solid sales in January, with models like the Chevrolet Cobalt, Aveo and Equinox and the Cadillac STS and Escalade leading the way," said John Smith, group vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. In a recent interview with The Business Journal, Lori Queen, GM vehicle line executive for small cars, described the Cobalt's launch and quality as "phenomenal," and that GM executives "expected huge numbers out of the plant this year. The whole company's counting on it."She also emphasized the Lordstown plant exceeded a challenging launch curve of 70% -- a manufacturing calculation GM sets and uses to measure ramp-up procedures. "No one ever hit 70% with a three-shift operation before. They hit 77%," she said.In October, Lordstown ceased production of the Chevrolet Cavalier and started sole production of the Cobalt and Ponitac Pursuit, a car sold only in Canada. By mid-year, GM will have invested more than $1 billion to revamp Lordstown's operations. The complex produces about 1,000 Cobalts a day and expects to manufacture up to 1,200 a day in the near-term.General Motors dealers sold 279,653 new cars and trucks in January, up 1% compared to year-ago deliveries. GM's truck sales, which stood at 162,267, were up 1%, and new car sales totaling 117,386 were up 2%."GM's January sales were soft, but not surprising, given our strong close in December and some tough weather across most of the country," Smith said. Other vehicles such as the Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Silverado and Saturn Relay sold well in January, he added.Sales of GM's full-size pickup sales rose 6% in January on the strength of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra deliveries, both of which were up compared to last year. Additionally, the mid-size pickups Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon had a combined sales improvement of more than 200% and also contributed to the 17.5% increase for total GM pickup sales, the company reported.Sales of small utility vehicles were up 78.5% in January, paced by the new Chevrolet Equinox. Deliveries of Cadillac SRX, GM's entry into the medium luxury utility segment, rose 24.5%. Additionally, GM's large luxury SUV sales improved 13%, led by sales increases for Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV and Hummer H2.January sales of full-size vans continued on the strong pace that began in 2004. The combination of Chevrolet and GMC full-size van sales generated a 31% increase over year-ago levels.Among GM brands, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Hummer and Saab posted sales gains over year-ago levels. Saturn's sales were comparable to last year. January sales for all GM certified used vehicle brands were 40,063 units, down 5% from last year.In January, GM North America produced 351,500 vehicles (41,500 cars and 210,000 trucks) compared to 378,200 vehicles (144,700 cars and 233,500 trucks) produced in January 2004. Production totals include joint venture production of 22,000 vehicles in January 2005 and 9,400 vehicles in January 2004.GM North America has revised its first-quarter production forecast to 1.225 million vehicles (480,000 cars and 745,000 trucks), down 25,000 vehicles from last month's guidance of 1.25 million vehicles. In the first quarter of 2004, GM North America built 1.345 million vehicles (525,000 cars and 820,000 trucks).GM also revised downward first-quarter production forecasts for its international regions."