GM announces US sales gain; STLA timing

For the second quarter, General Motors (GM) sold 696,086 vehicles in the United States, up 0.6%; in the first half of the year, they sold 1,290,319 vehicles, down 0.4%. Sales could be called “flat,” with quality gains countered by a delay in producing electric cars due to a slower-than-expected robotics supplier at the battery plant.

Relatively small automakers Honda and Mazda announced sales gains for the quarter, but Toyota, Hyundai, and Kia all announced drops. Tesla had a 5% drop in sales, despite cutting prices and having excess stock.

Part of the reason for sales drops at Toyota, Hyundai, and Kia, as well as essentially stable sales at GM, was weeks of downtime at CDK, which provides dealership sales and repair back-end services. CDK’s systems were breached by a cybercrime syndicate linked to the Russian government and held for ransom. CDK resisted paying the ransom, which extended the downtime while reducing Russia’s benefit from the scheme, and is likely to spend years in court as a result.

Stellantis is expected to announce a hefty drop in sales, and for that reason will probably release its sales figures later than many automakers.