Keeping track of GM’s sales figures is going to be significantly more difficult as the company has revealed it will no longer be releasing monthly sales statistics.
In a brief statement, the automaker confirmed it will now begin reporting U.S. sales on a quarterly basis. This means we won’t get our next look at new car sales until July 3rd.
The decision to switch over to quarterly releases is disappointing but GM’s U.S. vice president of sales operations, Kurt McNeil, said “Thirty days is not enough time to separate real sales trends from short-term fluctuations in a very dynamic, highly competitive market.” He went on to say “Reporting sales quarterly better aligns with our business and the quality of information will make it easier to see how the business is performing.”
GM went on to cite a list of other reasons for the change including a number of issues which can cause sales to vary month to month. These include the basics such as incentives and the number of selling days in a month. The company also noted seasonal factors such as the weather. While it seems odd to blame the weather for impacting sales, major storms such as hurricanes can impact entire regions.
Despite the change, GM says they are committed to transparency and will continue to release detailed information such as brand and nameplate sales as well as its fleet mix and current inventory.
While the company has some legitimate reasons for switching over to quarterly releases, Business Insider says executives have been frustrated when their sales are compared to competitors. This is understandable as nobody likes losing, especially when the results are pointed out 12 times a year.
For the month of March, GM’s U.S. sales climbed 16 percent over last year as the company sold 296,341 vehicles. GMC achieved its best March ever while a number of crossovers reported double digit gains. Unfortunately, a number of cars took a hit as the Chevrolet Camaro, Impala and Volt posted double digit declines and the Buick Regal dropped 38.4 percent.
