General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) posted total September sales of 223,437 vehicles in the United States, up 19% year-over-year. Retail sales rose 17%. Total retail sales for the first nine months of 2014 totaled 1.66 million units.
The July forecast from Edmunds.com called for sales of 228,800 vehicles, up 22.3% year-over-year. Kelley Blue Book forecast GM sales at 217,000 for the month.
Total Chevrolet deliveries are up 3.3% year-over-year and Corvette sales were up 231%. The Chevy Cruze posted a gain of 44.7% in September, and year-to-date sales are up 6.3%. For the first nine months of the year, total sales are up 4.3%, including discontinued models. Chevy sales are up 3.3% and Cadillac sales are down 4.2% for the first nine months of the year. GMC brand sales were up 277% in September and are up 10% for the year.
GM’s new SUVs and pickups continue to be big hits, and GM said its average transaction price in September was the highest ever at $34,600. GMC Sierra pickups sold 16,763 units in September, up 24.7%, and total Sierra sales year-to-date are up 8.6%. Sales of the Savana SUV rose 71% in September and are up about 100% year-to-date.
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The bigger news from GM today was the outline for its strategic plan to help the company achieve 9% to 10% pretax earnings margins by “early next decade.” New and refreshed designs play a big role in those plans, with 27% of global sales volume coming from design changes in 2015, rising to 38% in the both of the next two years and reaching 47% by 2019.
The company will establish Cadillac as a separate business and plans to introduce four new vehicles in North America next year and nine new models in China over the next five years.
GM expects to achieve adjusted pretax earnings margins of 10% in North America in 2016, and the company expects to return to profitability in Europe by the same year. Net income margins in China are expected to be maintained at 9% to 10%, and GM expects to “improve” its operations in South America.
GM’s stock price was up about 2.7% as the noon hour approached on Wednesday, at $32.81 in a 52-week range of $31.67 to $41.85.
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