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GM Sales Drop 15% in June
DETROIT -- General Motors dealers sold 380,267 new cars and trucks in June, down 15% compared to June 2003. GM's truck sales (218,558) were down 15% and car sales (161,709) were down 15% as well.Total sales January through JuneĀ of 2,295,621 units were up 1%. Truck sales through the first six months (1,350,083) were up 3 % compared to year-ago levels, and car sales (945,538) declined 3%."Coming off strong May sales, GM's June sales were weaker than we expected," said John Smith, group vice president North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "For the first half of the year, our sales were up slightly, led by growing truck sales and launch vehicles. For the second half of the year, we need to accelerate our selling pace and produce stronger results."Sales of the Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire, both manufactured at GM's assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, posted substantial drops in sales for the month. A total of 19,163 Cavaliers were sold in June, down 46.2% over June 2003. Sunfire sales of 3,638 units represent a 31.9% decrease.Year-to-date, Cavalier sales stand at 103,918 units, down 19% from January through June of 2003. Sales of the Sunfire of 18,483 units so far this year are down 8.9% from the same period last year. Both models have been discontinued, and the Lordstown plant will instead produce the new Cobalt.GM truck sales in June declined 15% compared to industry record truck deliveries last year. Calendar year-to-date truck sales were up 3% and running at industry-record levels. Although total sport utility sales (94,016) were down 19% in June compared to industry-record sales in 2003, deliveries for the first six months were up 7% (620,160) and remain on a record-setting pace. Deliveries of small utilities (14,779) climbed 11% in June and 35 % in the first half of the year (82,048), paced by Chevrolet Equinox and Saturn Vue.GM car sales in June were down 15%. Economy car sales continued to build with 4,479 Chevrolet Aveo deliveries, its second best sales month since launch. Luxury car sales (20,858) gained 2%, led by the Cadillac CTS, which had 4,743 deliveries, up 3%.Last month, GM North America produced 481,000 vehicles (194,000 cars and 287,000 trucks) in North America, compared to 428,000 vehicles (165,000 cars and 263,000 trucks) produced in June 2003. Production totals include joint venture production of 25,000 vehicles in June 2004 and 15,500 in June 2003.GM North America's current 2004 second-quarter production total was 1.387 million vehicles (542,000 cars and 845,000 trucks). In the second quarter of 2003, GM North America built 1.38 million vehicles (543,000 cars and 837,000 trucks).Also, GM North America's 2004 third-quarter production forecast remains unchanged at 1.2 million vehicles (475,000 cars and 725,000 trucks). In the third quarter of 2003, GM North America built 1.245 million vehicles (492,000 cars and 753,000 trucks). GM will continue to monitor its second-half production plans and will provide updates on a timely basis.General Motors Corp., the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, employs about 325,000 globally in its core automotive business and subsidiaries. Founded in 1908, GM today has manufacturing operations in 32 countries, and its vehicles are sold in 192 countries."