Tracking GM Truck, Car And SUV Sales And Market Share

GM 2021 Silverado Realtree Edition. Source: GM 1Q 2020 earnings presentation.

This article is keeping track of General Motors (NYSE:GM) truck, SUV and sedan sales numbers as well as the market share in the United States on a quarterly and annual basis.

The presented vehicle sales numbers in this article are based on the retail sales data obtained from GM’s financial statements which can be found at the company’s investor relationship webpage.

Investors who are interested in GM’s wholesale numbers may visit this page: GM Vehicle Wholesales.

In general, 3 types of vehicle sales numbers and market share data are presented in this article and they are:

(1) Trucks,
(2) Cars (or Sedans), and
(3) SUVs (or Crossovers).

For your information, the vehicle retail sales presented in this article do not correlate with GM’s revenue disclosed in the income statement.

Only wholesale vehicle sales data correlates with the company’s presented revenue in the income statement.

Readers who are interested in GM’s wholesale vehicle sales may visit this webpage: GM’s Wholesale Vehicle Deliveries.

Let’s take a look!

GM’s Truck, Sedan And SUV Sales Numbers In The U.S. (Yearly)

GM’s truck, SUV and sedan retail volumes in the U.S.

Let’s first look at GM’s truck, sedan and SUV sales numbers in the U.S. by year which is shown in the chart above for the period from FY2014 to FY2021.

According to the chart, GM’s truck sales in the U.S. topped 1.22 million units in fiscal 2021, a year-on-year decline of 3%.

Despite selling millions of trucks every year, GM’s truck sales have been on a decline and the figure in 2021 was the lowest in the last 5 years.

The same trend also applies to GM’s SUV or crossover retail volumes in the U.S.

As shown in the chart, GM’s SUV or crossover retail sales topped only 857,000 units in 2021, a new low since 2018 and 18% lower compared to that of 2020.

Since 2019, GM’s SUV or crossover sales volume in the U.S. has been on a decline.

Among the 3 types of vehicle sales, GM’s sedan sales in the U.S. have been the lowest.

As of 2021, GM’s sedan or car retail volume topped only 138,000 units, also a new low and 42% lower compared to that of 2020.

In short, 2021 was a brutal year for General Motors’ SUV and sedan sales, driven primarily by a host of issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain disruption.

GM’s Truck, Sedan And SUV Market Share In The U.S. (Yearly)

GM’s truck, SUV and sedan market share in the U.S. by year

The chart above shows GM’s market share by vehicle type in the United States for the period between FY2011 and FY2021.

As seen from the chart, GM’s market share for trucks in the United States has risen significantly in recent years and reached as much as 29.6% as of fiscal 2021.

Over the last 8 years, GM’s market share for trucks in the U.S. has notably gained from 23% recorded in FY2014 to 29.6% recorded in FY2021, a massive 7 percentage points increment.

On the other hand, GM’s market share for SUVs or crossovers in the U.S. has been on a decline and topped only 10.7% as of 2021, a record low since 2014.

In terms of sedan or car market share, GM has significantly lost its market share in this vehicle segment in the U.S. since FY2014.

As of fiscal 2021, GM’s sedan market share in the U.S. totaled only 4.2%, a record low over the last 8 years.

In short, GM’s market share for trucks in the U.S. performed much better than that of SUVs and sedans.

GM’s Truck, Sedan And SUV Market Share In The U.S. (Quarterly)

GM’s truck, SUV and sedan market share in the U.S. by quarter

While the yearly market share figures show that GM’s SUV and sedan sales have been on a decline, the quarterly ploy shows the opposite.

For example, as of 2022, GM’s market share for SUVs or crossovers rebounded considerably from 2021.

As of 3Q 2022, GM’s market share for SUVs or crossovers totaled 11.5%, a far higher figure compared to that of 4Q21.

A similar trend applies to GM’s market share for sedans or cars.

As of 3Q 2022, GM’s market share for sedans or cars also rebounded significantly, reaching as much as 7.2%, a far cry from the lows seen in 2021.

GM’s market share for trucks in the U.S. has been in-line with that of the annual plot.

Since 2018, GM’s market share for trucks has been increasing, reaching as much as 30% as of 3Q 2022.

Despite the growing market share for trucks in the U.S., the figures seem to have remained stagnant in the last 3 years between 2019 and 2022, illustrating that GM’s truck sales in the U.S. may have reached a plateau.

GM’s Truck Sales Numbers In The U.S. (Quarterly)

GM’s truck sales in the U.S. (quarterly)

On a quarterly basis, GM’s truck sales in the U.S. have been roughly flat between FY2017 and FY2022.

On average, GM sold about 320,000 trucks on a quarterly basis over the last 5 years.

As of 3Q 2022, GM sold about 299,000 trucks in the U.S. which was in line with the average.

Year over year, the 2022 Q3 truck sales result represents a growth rate of 12% from a year ago.

In the latest quarter, GM’s truck sales were led by several models, including the Chevrolet and GMC brands.

For example, GM delivered nearly 60% higher Chevrolet Silverado HD in the 3Q 2022 quarter on a year-on-year basis.

Similarly, GMC Sierra HD sales were 52% higher in Q3 2022 compared to a year ago.

GM’s Truck Sales Numbers In The U.S. (TTM)

GM’s truck sales in the U.S. (ttm)

To smooth out the quarterly results and to better show the trend, I created the trailing 12-month (TTM) plot as shown in the chart above.

The TTM plot shows a much clearer trend for GM’s truck sales in the United States.

According to the chart, GM’s truck sales have been on a decline as of fiscal 2022 compared to 2021.

As of 3Q 2022, GM’s truck sales TTM figure topped 1.2 million units, roughly 10% lower than a year ago.

The year 2022 was brutal for General Motors.

As shown in the chart, GM’s truck sales in the U.S. hit new lows in most quarters in 2022 on a TTM basis.

GM’s Trucks Sales Year On Year Growth Rates

GM’s truck sales YoY growth rates

GM’s truck sales in the U.S. grew 12% in 3Q 2022 year-over-year but declined slightly on a quarterly basis based on the quarterly sales figures.

Despite the better-than-expected result in Q3 2022, GM’s truck sales growth rates had been entirely negative in the previous 4 quarters, illustrating just how bad the automotive market was for the company.

Also, you can see that there are only a handful of positive growth rates for truck sales shown in the chart above between 2018 and 2022.

GM’s SUV Sales Numbers In The U.S. (Quarterly)

GM’s SUV sales in the U.S. (quarterly)

In terms of crossover or SUVs sales in the U.S., GM’s quarterly results were nearly wiped out in 2022 as shown in the deep decline.

For instance, GM sold only 120,000 SUVs or crossovers in 4Q 2021, a record low since 2017.

As of Q3 2022, GM’s SUV or crossover sales totaled 207,000 units, roughly 30% higher than a year ago.

GM’s SUV or crossover sales in the U.S. were in much better shape in 2022 than in 2021.

On average, GM sold about 247,000 SUVs or crossovers in the U.S. on a quarterly basis since 2017.

In the SUV segment, GM’s sales results were led by several models coming from Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC brands.

For example, the Cadillac XT series registered very impressive growth rates in Q3 2022 year-on-year, with XT4 having nearly 1000% sales growth from a year ago.

GMC’s Acadia and Canyon sales grew in double-digits between 40% and 50% for both models on a year-over-year basis.

Similarly, the Chevrolet Traverse grew 136% from a year ago in 3Q 2022.

GM’s SUV Sales Numbers In The U.S. (TTM)

GM’s SUV sales in the U.S. (ttm)

From a TTM perspective, we can see that GM’s SUV or crossover sales in 2022 were in very bad shape.

The decline in SUV sales seems to have fallen off the cliff.

As of 3Q 2022, GM’s SUV or crossover sales totaled only 719,000 units on a TTM basis, about 30% lower than a year ago.

Despite the steep decline of GM’s SUV and crossover sales in the U.S. in 2022, the TTM figures for Q3 2022 seem to have reversed the fall from the prior quarter.

As such, a turnaround might be around the corner for GM’s SUV and crossover sales in the U.S.

GM’s SUV Sales Year On Year Growth Rates

GM’s SUV sales YoY growth rates

GM’s SUV sales in the U.S. grew at a massive 29% in 3Q 2022 but declined as much as 30% in the prior quarter based on the quarterly sales figures.

Similar to truck sales, GM’s SUV retail volume also encountered consecutively 4-quarter of negative growth rates prior to Q3 2022.

Also, we can see there are only a handful of positive growth rates between 2018 and 2022 for GM’s SUV and crossover retail sales in the U.S.

GM’s Car/Sedan Sales Numbers In The U.S. (Quarterly)

GM’s sedan sales in the U.S. (quarterly)

As shown in the chart above, GM’s car or sedan sales in the U.S. have been declining since 2017.

As of 3Q 2022, GM’s sedan retail volumes totaled 49,000 units, up 133% from the quarter a year ago but down 12.5% sequentially.

GM’s car or sedan sales in the U.S. seem to have reversed the continuous downtrend in 2022.

GM experienced the worst car and sedan sales volume in 2021 in the U.S. but the company did much better in 2022.

Under the car or sedan segment, the Cadillac brand sold a whole lot of sedans in 2022.

For example, the Cadillac CT series recorded very good growth rates in Q3 2022, notably at 178% and 269% for the CT4 and CT5 model, respectively.

In addition, the popular Chevrolet Bolt EV grew 226% year-over-year in Q3 2022 when sales volume hit 14k in 3Q 2022.

GM’s Car/Sedan Sales Numbers In The U.S. (TTM)

GM’s sedan sales in the U.S. (ttm)

The TTM plot above clearly shows the downtrend of GM’s sedan or car sales in the U.S.

Despite the continuous decline, GM’s sedan or car sales in the U.S. seem to have reversed in 2022 as shown in the chart above.

As of Q3 2022, the TTM figure came in at 179,000 cars, roughly in line with that of the same quarter a year ago and was much better than the number recorded in 1Q 2022 at 124,000 units.

GM’s Sedan Sales Year On Year Growth Rates

GM’s sedan sales YoY growth rates

GM’s cars or sedans sales in the U.S. from fiscal 2018 to 2021 have been a downright disaster as seen from all the negative growth rates in the chart.

Despite all the negative growth rates, GM reported positive growth rates for sedan and car sales in the U.S. consecutively in 2 quarters in 2022.

Accordingly, GM’s car or sedan sales in the U.S. grew by a massive 133% in 3Q 2022 and 93% in the prior quarter.

The better-than-expected positive growth rates for car and sedan sales in the U.S. in 2022 may mark a turnaround in the sedan segment for General Motors.

Summary

In summary, GM’s vehicle sales in the U.S. did much better in fiscal 2022 than in 2021.

A turnaround was seen in all vehicle segments in Q3 2022, from both the quarterly and TTM perspective.

Among all the vehicle segments, GM’s truck sales have been the most resilient in the last 5 years.

Despite the brutal results for the sedan segment all these years, it recovered the most in 2022, perhaps a turnaround is around the corner for the car and sedan segment for the company.

References and Credits

1. Financial figures in all charts in this article were obtained and referenced from General Motors’ financial statements available in GM Earning Release.

2. Featured images in this article are obtained from the following source: GM Q1 2020 results.

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