GM: Q3 sales see promising gains in EVs

General Motors' U.S. light-vehicle sales rose 21 percent in the third quarter, as all four of its brands reported gains and the automaker logged the first sales of key new electric vehicle models.

GM said Tuesday that its retail sales increased 16 percent in the quarter ended Sept. 30, while fleet sales through its GM Envolve division rose 47 percent. The automaker also reported a 35 percent increase in fleet sales to conquest buyers.

Chevrolet and Cadillac reported their strongest third-quarter sales since 2019, while GMC posted its best year-to-date sales through the first nine months of the year since 2005, GM said. Buick, which has been in a rebound year after the industrywide semiconductor shortage constrained sales, had a conquest rate of 43 percent through August.

Sales of GM's full-size and midsize pickups are at their best year-to-date levels since 2018, with full-size pickups posting their best year-to-date sales performance since 2007, the automaker said.

The company’s third-quarter sales results generally indicate that the impact of the UAW strike against the Detroit 3, which began Sept. 15, so far has been limited. The union has struck GM assembly plants in Wentzville, Mo., which builds the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickups, and near Lansing, Mich., where the Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave large crossovers are built.

Additionally, GM has idled its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas, which builds the Cadillac XT4 compact crossover and Chevy Malibu midsize sedan, because of a shortage of stampings made at Wentzville.

GM on Tuesday highlighted that Colorado sales rose 28 percent from the second quarter, while the Traverse — up 27 percent from a year ago — had its best third quarter since 2019. Vehicle output is halted at those three plants, so sales effects could be greater in the fourth quarter should the strike continue or expand to more factories. GM recently redesigned the Canyon and Colorado, updated the XT4 and is preparing to build a redesigned Traverse next year.

GM reported the first deliveries of two new EVs in the third quarter, with sales of 18 Silverado EV pickups to fleet customers and 19 Blazer EV crossovers. Executives have said both models will be important as GM expands its electric inventory into more segments and price points. Sales of existing EVs also increased: GM sold 3,018 Cadillac Lyriq midsize electric crossovers in the third quarter, up from 36 a year ago, and 1,167 GMC Hummer EVs in the third quarter, up from 411 a year ago.

GM has had difficulty scaling up EV production but has said it expects to build more electric models throughout the second half of this year.

Brands: Buick, up 54%; Cadillac, up 5.8%; Chevrolet, up 21%; GMC, up 18%.

Notable nameplates: Buick Encore GX, up 104%; Envision, down 0.4%; Envista, a new nameplate, sold 5,385 vehicles; Cadillac Escalade, up 7.5%; XT5, down 14%; XT4, down 9.2%; Chevrolet Suburban, down 11%; Corvette, up 5.9%; Silverado, up 21%; Blazer, down 11%; Trailblazer, up 76%; Trax, up 498%; GMC Terrain, down 5.1%; Sierra, up 46%.

Fleet mix: 20%, up from 17.1% a year earlier.

Inventory: 442,586 at the end of the third quarter, up 3.4% from the end of the second quarter and up 23% from the third quarter of 2022.

Quote: "Our strong results this year, whether you're measuring sales leadership, market share growth, conquest sales or pricing, show the power of having well-designed and engineered new trucks and SUVs for everyone — from entry-level buyers to the most discerning luxury customers," said Rory Harvey, GM's president of North America, in a statement.

Did you know? In May, Chevrolet said it expected the redesigned 2024 Trax subcompact crossover to be its No. 3 seller by the end of next year, behind the Silverado full-size pickup and the Equinox compact crossover. In the third quarter, GM said it was, with sales of 37,869 vehicles.