autoevolution
 

GM Announces 49 Percent Sales Drop in January 2009

With the global economic downturn far from being over, General Motors today announced its January 2009 sales, revealing a 49 percent drop compared to the same month of the previous year. No less than 129,227 units were delivered last month, with total car sales of 43,943 decreased by 58 percent and total truck sales of 85,284 down 42 percent. But even so, General Motors says the retail share above 21 percent for the second consecutive month is the first positive result of the massive anti-recession campaign the American automaker started since December 2008.

"We're attacking this unprecedented market as aggressively as possible, while offering more vehicles than ever that provide great value and that Americans enjoy owning," said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing.

"Our retail market share is a bright spot, holding steady above 21 percent for the second month in a row. That's a full point above the trailing 12-month average. It's important to realize that we accomplished this retail performance as the overall market ran about 6 million vehicles behind where it was last January (on a seasonally-adjusted annual rate) and every manufacturer was deeply impacted."

General Motors says 923 hybrid vehicles were delivered in January which, at the first look, sounds fairly disappointing for a struggling market that reduced demand for large-displacement engines. At this time, General Motors offers several hybrids, including the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade 2-mode hybrid SUVs, the Chevrolet Malibu and Saturn Aura mid-size sedan, and Saturn Vue compact crossover hybrids.

GM North America produced 65,000 vehicles in January 2009, 6,000 cars and 59,000 trucks, down 232,000 units (78 percent) compared to the same month of 2008. General Motors expects to produce around 380,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2009 (118,000 cars and 262,000 trucks), down 57 percent compared with a year ago.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Bogdan Popa
Bogdan Popa profile photo

Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories