General Motors First Quarter Retail Sales Rise 38%

March ended a very successful quarter for General Motors in the United States. The carmaker’s retail sales surged a total of 38 percent for the four brands under its wing, mainly driven by strong demand for the all-new Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan. Despite the fact that most automakers, including GM, reduced the amount of their buying incentives, dealers reported 206,621 total sales during March, an increase of 11 percent. This total included a 17 percent increase in retail sales, compared to March 2010.

It’s not all good news, however, as deliveries to fleet customers increased 1 percent. This is also the ninth straight month that fleet sales comprised less than 30 percent of total sales. For the first quarter of this year, total sales increased 26 percent to 592,545 units compared to a year earlier. As a result, each of GM’s four brands (Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac) saw gains in retail and total market share during this time.

“Our plan was to get out of the gates quickly in the first quarter and we succeeded,” said Don Johnson, vice president, U.S. Sales Operations. “Consumers responded favorably to the value of our broad lineup of fuel-efficient cars, trucks and crossovers.”

“March sales demonstrated our newest models continue to win over customers. Vehicles like the Chevrolet Cruze and Equinox put us in great position to benefit from consumer’s increasing desire for fuel-efficient vehicles,” Johnson said.

The crossover segment also showed remarkable strength, as the all four brands set total and retail sales records for crossover sales during the month, driven by a 20 percent increase in combined retail sales by the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain.

Dealer inventory in the United States at the end on the month stood at about 574,000 units, which is about 57,000 higher compared to February and about 149,000 higher than March 2010.