GM Details Sales for June 2011

General Motors sales numbers out July 1 show that the company is continuing to come back from their 2008 slump with a vengeance. Sales numbers for June are up about 11% over June 2010, with 215,358 sales reported for the month. That includes over 20,000 of the Chevrolet Cruze cars that are doing so well in today’s market. The Cruze and Cruze Eco are fuel-efficient cars that are commanding a lot of attention from buyers. Other models that are driving GM’s gains, according to staffers, are the GMC Terrain and the Chevrolet Equinox, as well as Chevy’s line of trucks, which the company says experienced a 15% sales increase from May. More buyers might be looking for trucks in the summer, but there’s also the perennial appeal of the Silverado and Sierra trucks and the unique mid-gate design of the Avalanche which has a lot of customers choosing GM for their hauling needs.

A lot of what is allowing the Chevrolet brand to thrive is the company’s overall focus on the needs of current customers. That means offering the V6 trucks, smaller cars, and fuel-efficient engines that are getting sold right now. It also means embracing the alternative technologies that will drive future sales, like the hybrid, and the all-electric Chevy Volt, although these sorts of cars are not major elements of the market quite yet.

Reaching out also means providing competitive rebates and sales incentives to customers, and while recent reports show that auto makers are not generally ramping up incentives, GM still offers some concessions, including Customer Cash rebates of up to $3500 on some models, or special car financing at as low as 1.9%. Today’s car buyers aren’t seeing the kinds of 0% deals that used to pop up more often, but compared to lots of scenarios, today’s rates are still pretty low. The trick is to figure out how to buy at these optimal rates. Talk to your local GM dealer about how to access factory direct deals without getting additional interest padded on, and learn how to select the incentive options that make the most sense for you. By evaluating what GM is offering, as well as knowing your credit and trade-in value, you can drive down your total price for a new or used Chevy and benefit from lower interest over the term of your car financing loan.