GM's U.S. Sales Up 6.3% in Third Quarter

By Nora Naughton 

General Motors Co.'s U.S. auto sales climbed 6.3% in the third quarter on higher pickup-truck sales and strong demand for its sport-utility vehicles, signaling a United Auto Workers strike at its U.S. factories has so far had little effect on showroom traffic.

GM's quarterly sales gains contrast with flat results at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV for the same period and a 5.1% decline reported by Ford Motor Co. for the third quarter.

The strike at GM, now in its third week, has brought the company's more than 30 U.S. factories to a standstill, denting third-quarter profits and limiting supplies to dealerships.

Still, new-vehicle buyers continued to snap up GM models, with pickup-trucks sales at Chevrolet up 18% and up nearly 40% at GMC in the third quarter. The Detroit car company is benefiting from new redesigned pickup trucks that started hitting dealer lots in larger supplies in the third quarter. Sales of large SUVs also increased, with the Chevrolet Traverse up about 25% and GMC's Acadia up 50%.

Stock levels at GM dealerships remain relatively healthy despite the work stoppage, with retailers carrying about 760,000 vehicles in inventory. Morgan Stanley estimates GM dealers have enough stock to last 81 days without replacement inventory, down from 84 a year earlier.

GM's strength comes as the U.S. car market continues to soften overall, following a period of historically strong sales bolstered by a robust U.S. economy and low unemployment.

--Mike Colias contributed to this article.

Write to Nora Naughton at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 02, 2019 13:03 ET (17:03 GMT)

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