General Motors’ February sales slipped 1.5 percent, hurt by what the company said was a planned 39 percent drop in rental deliveries vs. a year earlier.
GM has been sharply reducing the number of vehicles it sells to rental operators over the last several months in an effort to boost resale values. In February, it sold about 16,500 fewer rentals than a year earlier, and has cut about 30,000 in the first two months of the year.
GM is urging investors to focus on its retail numbers instead of overall sales, which lagged the market in February.
It said retail deliveries for the month rose 7 percent, accounting for about 79 percent of the total. The company estimates that its retail market share for February rose 0.4 percentage points, to 16.9 percent. It said its retail market share has grown every month since April.
“Our strategy is simple: grow profitable retail share while maintaining discipline with inventory levels and incentive spending, while reducing rental deliveries,” Kurt McNeil, GM’s U.S. vice president of sales operations, said in a statement today.
GM finished the month with a 67-day supply of vehicles on dealer lots or en route to stores, down from 74 days a year earlier.
Chevrolet’s overall sales felt the brunt of the rental decline, dropping 0.7 percent. GM said Chevy’s retail sales rose 13 percent, led by a 53 percent surge in sales of the redesigned Malibu sedan. Sales of the Silverado pickup -- GM’s highest volume vehicle and its biggest money maker -- slipped 5 percent.
Buick total sales rose 2.3 percent, helped by the Encore small crossover (up 14 percent) and the Enclave large crossover (up 19 percent). Cadillac sales rose 0.9 percent, buoyed by a 21 percent jump in Escalade deliveries.
GMC sales fell 6.8 percent, hurt by a 24 percent decline in the aging Terrain compact crossover, the brand’s No. 2 seller behind the Sierra pickup (up 0.3 percent).
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