March Shows Strong Up-tick In Sales Volume
Yesterday, General Motors released their sales report for March, 2018. The report indicates that a total of 2,101 Corvettes were sold during the March sales period. Year-to-date, this is the strongest sales month for Corvette, though total sales volume is still down compared to this same period last year. In March, 2017, Chevrolet sold 2,460 Corvettes, indicating a decline in sales by 359 units, which translates into a -14.6% drop in sales between 2017 and 2018. Similarly, year-to-date Corvette sales thru March, 2018 total just 4,457 units, compared to this same period in 2017, where total sales equaled 5,804 units. This accounts for -23.2% total drop in sales year-over-year.
While sales numbers are still down from last year, the uptick in March sales does show an expected improvement in overall sales volume. With the availability of the 2019 model year, which includes the all-new Corvette ZR1, in addition to new 2017 and 2018 units that are still available (both with GM sales incentives in-place), the expectation is that sales volume will continue to increase in the coming months. As it relates to sales volume in 2018, Corvette sales in March are up 1,005 units (or 109.05%) over January, and up 750 units (or 55.51%) over February.
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General Motors reported that, effective immediately, they will begin reporting U.S. vehicle sales on a quarterly (versus monthly) basis. For 2018, second quarter sales will be released on July 3, third quarter sales on October 2 and fourth quarter sales on January 3, 2019.
“Thirty days is not enough time to separate real sales trends from short-term fluctuations in a very dynamic, highly competitive market,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president, Sales Operations. “Reporting sales quarterly better aligns with our business, and the quality of information will make it easier to see how the business is performing.”
