Silverado Sales Lead GM to Best Monthly Sales Since 2008

GM’s new vehicle sales for May were forecast at around 282,000 by analysts at both Kelley Blue Book (KBB) and at Edmunds. Transaction prices rose 4.2% year-over-year and were flat compared with April’s average selling price, according to KBB.

The best-selling vehicle in the month was the Silverado pickup, which saw a sales gain of 10.6% to 51,602 units. The GMC Sierra pickups posted a gain of 3.6% in May, and the Acadia sport utility vehicle (SUV) saw a sales gain of 67% to 10,498 units in May.

Cadillac sales slipped 1.9%, following a 13.7% increase in April. Cadillac retail sales slipped 1.9% in May, after rising 1.1% in April. For the year to date, total Cadillac sales are down 1.2% and retail sales are down 5.6%.

GM reported that fleet sales comprised 24.9% of May sales, down 2.9% year over year. For the year to date, fleet sales made up 26.5% of sales, up 0.6% compared with the first five months of 2014.

Total Chevrolet deliveries in May were up 1.4% year over year. The two pickups aside, sales rose most for the compact Equinox SUV (up 29.8%) and the midsize Malibu (up 11.3%).

GM said its average transaction price in May was about $34,000, a drop of $750 from April and up $550 year over year.

The company’s Buick brand saw a sales increase of 0.5% in April. Buick sales are down 3.6% for the year to date.

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For the auto industry as a whole, GM’s forecast for the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales is 17.6 million for May, sharply higher than April’s estimate of 16.7 million.

GM’s stock traded up about 0.2% late Tuesday morning, at $36.25 in a 52-week range of $28.82 to $38.99.