American automaker General Motors suffered a decline in third-quarter sales in the United States, with the exception of electric vehicles, while prices remained stable.
Between July and September, the Detroit (north) giant sold 659,601 vehicles, or 2.2% less than the same period of the previous year. But this decline is less severe than that anticipated by analysts.
The group saw a resurgence in sales of its Sierra pickup, but its flagship, the Silverado, recorded a poor performance.
The manufacturer, on the other hand, noted that its sales of electric vehicles were growing “faster than the market”, with a jump of 46% to reach 32,000 units sold over the quarter.
GM and its compatriot Ford have slowed down their investments in electric vehicles due to less dynamic demand than expected.
The average price of its vehicles stands at $49,349, a level which corresponds to that of the second quarter in a context of promotions and other stable financial aid.
At the end of September, it had 627,048 vehicles in stock, which is much higher than the previous year when the three major American manufacturers suffered an unprecedented strike which lasted six weeks. But this remains lower than the pre-pandemic stock.
For Garrett Nelson, analyst at CFRA Research, these figures are “more or less in line” with the results of other groups in the sector in the third quarter.
Cox Automotive expects a decline in vehicle sales of 2.1% in total, in a volatile climate due to the election period and the beneficial effect of the reduction in interest rates by the central bank (Fed) .
“We remain optimistic that new vehicle sales could improve slightly in the last quarter of 2024,” noted Charlie Chesbrough, economist at Cox Automotive.