General Motors enjoying 'healthy backdrop' as auto sales tick up - RBC
Published: 09:37 07 Jan 2025 EST
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is enjoying a “healthy backdrop” in the US, RBC analysts have said, after figures showed it topped the table of cars sold last month.
Overall, light vehicle sales climbed by 8.9% to 1.52 million in December, RBC flagged in a note.
General Motors accounted for 274,251 of these, as sales increased by 23.8% year on year for the firm.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) sold 190,295 light vehicles in the meantime, up 3.5%, placing it ahead of Stellantis NV (NYSE:STLA, EPA:STLA), which faced a 10.4% drop to 119,730.
RBC noted the figures, which also showed a drop in inventory days from 70 to 53 for General Motors to match pre-pandemic levels, painted a solid picture for the company.
Ford’s inventory days also decreased, from 96 to 81, alongside Stellantis, from 88 to 63 days.
However, both remained above pre-pandemic levels, prompting RBC to flag “cautious” and “concerning” backdrops in the US for Ford and Stellantis respectively.
Figures pointed to “optimism across US autos” though, RBC added, as average transaction prices climbed by 1.9% year on year to US$49,591.
“Strong pricing is supportive of a healthy consumer and pent-up post-pandemic demand,” analysts said.
“This is also good news for the supplier group, as there is a case for better volumes given lower dealer inventories.”
