Chevrolet Sales Decline 15.3% in July as Chevy Cuts Fleet Sales
Due to Chevrolet reducing its amount of fleet sales, overall sales for sedans and other vehicles experienced losses in July
As Chevrolet supplies fewer sedans to fleets, overall sales start to decline
Last month, the management team at GM promised to reduce the excess number of vehicles in its inventory by the end of the year, cutting back on fleet sales to do so. The Chevrolet inventory was indeed decreased at the end of July. However, overall sales also experienced a decline. Chevrolet retail sales in July declined by 14.1%, while overall sales fell 15.3%.
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Chevrolet sold a total of 151,502 vehicles during the month of July. Compared to July a year prior, during which Chevy sold 178,820 vehicles, this accounts for a 15.3% sales decline. At the forefront of this sales decline were some of Chevy’s smaller sedan models; the Chevrolet Sonic experienced a sales decline of 47.3% during July. Meanwhile, the Chevrolet Spark had the largest sales decline of any vehicle in the Chevy lineup. Chevrolet sold 764 Sparks last month and, when compared to the 4,229 it sold a year prior, this accounts for an 81.9% decline.
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Sedans are the class of vehicle most likely to suffer sales losses due to a reduction in fleet sales. For example, the Chevrolet Cruze experienced a sales reduction of 10.5% in July. Still, the Cruze is performing quite well year-to-date. So far in 2017, Cruze sales are up 16.9%.
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One Chevrolet model that managed to perform exceptionally well in July was the Equinox. Chevrolet sold 23,524 Equinox models last month, an improvement of 7.5% compared to a year ago.
Chevrolet’s latest electric model, the Chevy Bolt EV, had a strong month in July as well, with 1,971 Bolts sold. With the Bolt being introduced nationwide later this month, Bolt sales are likely to grow even more as the year progresses.
Sales for the Bolt are up, even though it is not available nationwide yet
Year to date, Chevrolet has sold 1,120,384 vehicles. By this point in 2016, the automaker had sold 1,185,710 vehicles, demonstrating a 5.5% sales decline. July was an exceptionally rough month for automakers across the industry. As Chevrolet continues to cut fleet sales to reduce inventory, sales declines might become more common to see, with Chevy focusing on streamlining operations to increase the value of every one of its vehicles.
You can observe how every vehicle performed in July in the sales chart below:
Chevrolet July 2017 Sales
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