GM is top selling automaker in US as 2024 sales tick up, EVs gain momentum
General Motors reported Friday that its U.S. sales rose 4% for all of 2024 compared with the year before, marking its best year-over-year gain since 2019. The automaker reported it sold more than 2.7 million new vehicles in the states, compared with 2.6 million new vehicles in 2023.
For the fourth quarter, GM reported a 21% gain in sales. The results mean GM once again tops the second highest-selling automaker in the U.S., Toyota Motor North America. On Friday, Toyota reported its year-end 2024 U.S. sales came in at 2,332,623 vehicles, an increase of 3.7% from 2023. The company reported fourth-quarter sales of 603,104 vehicles, a decrease of 2.7%.
GM gained its sales momentum from the introduction of new or refreshed models, its pickups and SUVs and for its new electric vehicles coming off of its Ultium propulsion system.
Prior to last year, GM struggled to make battery cell modules for those EVs, hampering production and sales of the cars. But GM said Friday that 2024 was its best year for EV sales ever. For the year, GM sold 114,432 EVs, a 50% gain over 2023. For the fourth quarter, GM sold 43,982 EVs compared with 13,938 in 2023. GM said it now has about 12% of the EV market.
“The driving force for our business is new vehicles with great design and performance across our portfolio, helping our dealers satisfy more customers. We’re carrying significant momentum into 2025,” Rory Harvey, GM’s president of Global Markets, said in a statement.
GM brought to market new or redesigned gasoline-powered models of the GMC Acadia, the Chevrolet Equinox, Buick Envision, Chevrolet Traverse, Cadillac CT5, GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevrolet Suburban in 2024.
In the quarter, GM sold 755,160 new vehicles, a 21% gain compared with 625,176 new cars sold in the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, GM sold 2,705,080 new vehicles compared with 2,594,698 new vehicles sold in 2023. GM’s sales to fleet rose 22% in the quarter, it said, but it did not provide a number for how many vehicles were delivered.
GM ended 2024 with 596,775 total vehicles in dealership inventory, up from 456,686 at the end of 2023. The average transaction price for a GM vehicle in the fourth quarter $51,292, compared with $49,341 in the third quarter, GM said.
GM’s results were predicted in early December by Cox Automotive senior economist Charlie Chesbrough who said, “The sales winner in 2024 is General Motors. Their sales are expected to finish near 2.7 million units, up over 4% from last year, an increase of approximately twice the national average. Both Buick and Cadillac brands will see double-digit gains this year, but Chevrolet Trax had the biggest volume increase — and, not coincidentally, it is also their lowest- priced product.”
Ford Motor Co. reported Friday that U.S. new vehicle sales rose 4% to nearly 2.1 million vehicles last year compared with 2023, an increase driven by sales of trucks. The Dearborn-based automaker reported sales of trucks jumped by 7% in 2024, with sales of the Maverick rising nearly 40% and Transit sales increasing by more than 18%. For the fourth quarter, its new vehicles rose by nearly 9% to 530,660 vehicles compared with the same period in 2023.
Stellantis is expected to report its fourth-quarter and full-year sales later Friday.
GM’s mass-market brand Chevrolet saw its fourth-quarter sales soar by 17% to 481,064. For the year, Chevrolet reported a sales gain of about 2% with 1,745,809 vehicles sold.
The sales were led by midsize and full-size pickups, SUVs and some newer models including the Chevrolet Equinox EV and Blazer EV, which GM sold 7,883 Blazer EVs in the fourth quarter compared with 463 in the year-ago period. In the quarter, GM sold 18,089 Equinox EVs, a vehicle launched this year. For the year, GM sold 28,874 Equinox EVs.
One of GM’s biggest successes last year continued to be the Chevrolet Trax subcompact SUV. GM launched it in April 2023 with all five trim levels starting under $25,000. Since then, sales of the vehicle have taken off. For 2024, GM sold 200,689 Trax vehicles, an 84% increase from 109,382 Traxs sold in 2023. For the fourth quarter, GM sold 50,927 Trax up 15.4% from the year-ago period.
The 2024 Chevrolet Trax ACTIV in Cacti Green parked on a road in front of a lake. Pre-production model shown. Actual production model may vary. Available in spring 2023. Cacti Green exterior color late availability.
For the quarter, GM sold 147,868 total Silverado full-size light-duty and heavy-duty pickups, a 3% gain from the year-ago period. For the full year, sales of those vehicles were nearly flat at 560,264 sold in 2024 compared with 555,609 in 2023. For the quarter, Traverse sales rose 60% to 35,983 sold. For the full year, sales of the Traverse dipped 14% to 105,835 sold.
GM’s luxury brand, Cadillac, also had a strong fourth quarter and full-year. For the quarter, GM said it sold 49,084 new Cadillac vehicles, a 35% increase over the year-ago period. For the year, the brand sold 160,204 new cars, a 9% increase. The sales were led by Escalade full-size SUV, along with its smaller SUVs: XT5, XT5 and XT6, all of which achieved double-digit sales growth in the quarter. Notable sales gains were also made by the all-electric Lyriq which GM saw a 210% gain in sales to 28,402 sold for the year.
But the redesigned CT5 sedan saw sales slump. For the year, Cadillac sold 14,861 CT5 cars a 20% drop from 2023.
Buick reported a sales gain of nearly 10% for both the fourth quarter and the full year. For the year, the brand sold 183,421 SUVs. The Envista led the sales drive selling 51,316 vehicles for the full year, compared with 13,302 a year earlier. GM said nearly three-fourths of Buick’s buyers this year were new to the brand.
Finally, GMC reported a 33% jump in quarterly sales to 178,289 vehicles sold. For the full year, GMC sold 614,117 vehicles, up 9% from the year-ago period. Pickups and large SUVs led the sales drive. For the year, total GMC Sierra full-size light duty and heavy duty pickups sales totaled 324,734, a 10% gain year-over-year.
Midsize pickups did well too. The GMC Canyon sales soared 70% to 38,215 sold for the full year. The Chevrolet Colorado also reported a sales gain of 38% to 98,012 pickups sold for the year.
For 2024, GM said it would boost production of the Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Hummer EV and Chevrolet Blazer EV. It also launched the Chevrolet Equinox EV, Cadillac Escalade IQ, the uber-expensive hand-built Cadillac Celestiq and the entry-level Cadillac Optiq.
For the year, GM sold 28,874 Equinox EVs. It trickled out a few remaining Bolt EVs, selling 8,627 for the full year, down from 62,045 sold in 2023. GM discontinued the Bolt so it can bring back a new version of it on its Ultium propulsion system in 2025.
GM reported it sold 7,428 Silverado EVs for all of 2024, compared with 461 in 2023. It sold 1,788 Sierra EVs for the year. There is no comparison since the Sierra EV was launched in 2024.
Sales of the Hummer EV pickup and SUVs soared 331% to 13,993 sold for all of 2024. GM’s all-electric deliver van division BrightDrop sold 1,529 vans in 2024 compared with 497 in 2023.
More: GM partners with ChargePoint to expand ultrafast EV charging network
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Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GM top selling automaker in US as 2024 sales rise, EVs gain momentum
