General Motors Q2 US Deliveries Rise on Strong EV Sales

General Motors Company GM reported its best quarterly sales in the United States in more than three years, with significant increases in full-size pickup trucks and EVs.

The automaker sold 696,086 units in the second quarter, rising 0.6% year over year and the highest since the fourth quarter of 2020.

EV deliveries rose 40% year over year to 21,930 units, comprising only 3.2% of total second-quarter sales. The year-over-year rise in EV sales was fueled by electric Hummer, which sold 2,929 units in the second quarter compared with 47 units in the year-ago period. LYRIQ is rapidly gaining traction in the EV market, with second-quarter sales increasing 26% compared with the first quarter.

GM sold approximately 229,000 full-size pickup trucks, up 6% year over year, marking the highest quarterly sales since 2021.

However, General Motors' total sales for the first half of the year were down 0.4% year over year, totaling around 1.3 million vehicles.

GM's second-quarter sales are projected to be slightly above the overall industry. Cox Automotive and Edmunds, both auto industry forecasters, anticipate second-quarter sales industrywide, including Jul 1, 2024, to remain roughly level from a year earlier due to slowing retail demand.

The automaker is making a strong push on SUVs and plans to release eight all-new or redesigned internal combustion engine SUVs by the end of the year.

A significant unknown factor in the second quarter is the impact of cyberattacks on dealer software provider CDK Global. The Jun 19, 2024, ransomware attack forced CDK, a market leader, to shut down its dealer management system, affecting nearly half of all dealerships in North America.

Per GM, dealers using the CDK platform are striving to meet high customer demand despite challenging conditions. Some deliveries might be delayed until the third quarter.

Dealers, including the largest publicly traded ones, were compelled to delay sales or find workarounds due to the attacks.

Per Automotive News, five out of the six major publicly traded franchised dealership groups use CDK as their primary dealership management system provider. Those dealership groups include Asbury Automotive Group, AutoNation Inc., Group 1 Automotive Inc., Lithia Motors Inc. and Sonic Automotive Inc.

The Hyundai brand reported sales of 214,719 vehicles in the second quarter, rising 2.2% from the year-ago quarter.

Kia, which releases sales figures monthly, saw a 6.5% decline in June sales. For the first half of the year, Kia's sales were down approximately 2%, totaling 386,460 vehicles.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

GM currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Blue Bird Corporation BLBD, Geely Automobile Holdings Limited GELYY and American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. AXL, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present.

The consensus estimate for BLBD's 2024 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 17.29% and 155.14%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2024 and 2025 have improved 63 cents and 69 cents, respectively, in the past 60 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GELYY's 2024 sales suggests year-over-year growth of 36.63%. The EPS estimates for 2024 and 2025 have improved 21 cents and 34 cents, respectively, in the past 60 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AXL's 2024 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year growth of 3.05% and 544.44%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2024 have moved up 5 cents in the past 60 days. The EPS estimates for 2025 have moved up 20 cents in the past 30 days.

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