GM: Q2 sales up 19% on commercial, SUV gains

General Motors’ U.S. light-vehicle sales surged 19 percent in the second quarter as all four of its brands posted double-digit gains.

It was the fourth consecutive quarter of retail market share growth for GM, which is on pace to be the nation’s No. 1 new-vehicle seller for a second-straight year after losing the crown in 2021 to Toyota.

GM said its retail sales rose 15 percent year over year, while sales by GM Envolve, a newly created unit that combines fleet and its BrightDrop brand of electric delivery vans, jumped 34 percent. Year to date, GM said it has achieved its highest commercial sales since 2007.

GMC had its highest-volume first half since 2005, and Cadillac had its best second quarter since 2019.

Full-size SUV sales soared 42 percent in the quarter. Volume of four Chevrolet nameplates — the Bolt, Camaro, Trailblazer and Trax — more than doubled from a year earlier, when widespread parts shortages hindered production. GM said shipments to dealerships of the redesigned Trax subcompact crossover, which starts at less than $22,000, would increase in the second half of the year.

Brands: Buick, up 48%; Cadillac, up 15%; Chevrolet, up 18%; GMC, up 18%

Notable nameplates: Buick Encore GX, up 99%; Envision, up 99%; Cadillac Escalade, up 25%; XT5, up 2.6%; XT4, up 5.6%; Chevrolet Suburban, up 87%; Corvette, up 5.7%; Silverado, down 0.5 percent; Blazer, up 26%; Trailblazer, up 112%; GMC Terrain, down 13%; Sierra, up 22%.

Q2 U.S. light-vehicle market share: 16.3%, up an estimated 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier.

Fleet mix: 24%, up from 22% a year earlier

Inventory: 427,973, 3.8 percent more than at the end of the first quarter and 73 percent more than a year earlier

Quote: “Chevrolet Trax is filling the void left by brands that’ve scaled back affordable choices,” said Scott Bell, vice president of global Chevrolet.

Did you know? Pickups and full-size SUVs — GM’s most profitable vehicle lines — accounted for 45 percent of the company’s sales in the first half of 2023.