General Motors said its third quarter sales in the United States declined 5.5% compared to the year ago period, attributing the slip from the same quarter last year to a smaller-than-anticipated electric vehicle market and discontinued models.
The Detroit automaker reported Oct. 1 that it sold 670,974 vehicles in the quarter. That decline, slightly smaller than what analysts expected, included a major drop in sales for its luxury brand, Cadillac.
GM in July provided similar reasons for a sales dip of nearly 7% during the second quarter, when it said it sold 12,000 fewer vehicles from the second quarter of 2025 after discontinuing select models.
“Our business is performing very well, the launch of our next-generation full-size pickup trucks is on track,
and we are making investments in new vehicles, innovative technologies, and our U.S. manufacturing footprint to drive our next phase of growth,” Duncan Aldred, GM’s president of North America, said in a statement.
GM’s third quarter results fall in line with analyst expectations of softening sales, which could put its market share lead at risk. Edmunds predicted GM sales of 669,044 vehicles, down 5.8% from the prior year quarter.
At the end of the quarter, GM said it had inventory of about 568,000 vehicles.
EV sales drop still stings
Last year, consumers rushed to dealerships to pull ahead car purchases before tariffs on automobiles and automotive parts imposed by President Donald Trump took effect as well as the impending loss of the $7,500 tax credit on qualifying electric vehicle sales.
GM has not cut any electric vehicles except for the Canadian-built BrightDrop commercial delivery van, though leaders noted the drop in consumer demand for EVs harmed vehicle sales in the second quarter.
Sales of the Chevrolet Bolt, the only vehicle GM makes domestically that is priced below $30,000, sold 3,866 models in the third quarter, bringing its total to 8,090 vehicles so far this year.
GM plans to produce 35,000 Chevrolet Bolts across its limited run, refining earlier plans to produce about 150,000 vehicles, according to a UAW leader in the plant that builds them. Production began earlier this year and is slated to end in the first quarter of 2027 when the plant – Fairfax Assembly in Kansas City, Kansas – transitions to producing the gas-powered Chevrolet Equinox GM will move up from Mexico.
GM sold plenty of its highly profitable gasoline powered pickups and SUVs despite chronically high gas prices amid the ongoing war in Iran. GM pointed to the sales strength of its top five best-selling vehicles: the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse and Chevrolet Trax.
The all-new 2027 Chevrolet Silverado and 2027 GMC Sierra trucks are slated to reach dealerships later this year.
The top-selling vehicles included a mix of pricey pickups and budget cars, including the Trax, which starts below $25,000. Affordability remains an issue, though experts noted that high-income buyers drove most of the sales momentum in the third quarter.
“Ultimately, people still need reliable transportation, and that replacement demand is helping keep sales from plummeting,” Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ head of insights, said in a statement. “Higher-income buyers who aren’t as squeezed by borrowing costs are likely doing the heavy lifting right now, while budget-conscious households are forced to hang onto older cars much longer or seek used-car alternatives.”
Discontinued models negatively impacted sales in both the second and third quarter, which included the Chevrolet Malibu and Chevrolet Camero as well as the Cadillac XT4 and XT6.
GM sold 437,321 Chevrolets in the third quarter, down 4.6% year over year, with GMC sales falling 4.7% to 157,103.
Total Buick sales of 43,990 were up 7.9% while Cadillac plummeted 30% to 32,560 vehicles.
While GM sales declined, its largest competitors posted gains in the third quarter.
Toyota Motor North America reported an 0.6% sales increase on a volume basis on Oct. 1, selling 633,223 vehicles. Hyundai-Kia posted a 5.4% sales increase to 506,200 vehicles, and Automotive News data center reported American Honda had a 9.3% sales increase to 392,341.
Stellantis, which owns Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, also reports sales on Oct. 1. Crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. is expected to report sales on Oct. 2.
Jackie Charniga covers General Motors for the Free Press. Reach her at jcharniga@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: General Motors saw U.S. sales slide in Q3. What the numbers tell us
