United Auto Workers (UAW) members and supporters on a picket line exterior the General Motors Co. Flint Processing Center in Swartz Creek, Michigan, US, on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023.
Emily Elconin | Bloomberg | Getty Images
DETROIT – An ongoing strike by the United Auto Workers union towards the Detroit automakers had little to no direct impact on General Motors’ third-quarter U.S. new car sales.
The Detroit automaker on Tuesday reported a 21.4% enhance in sales from July by way of September in comparison with nonetheless subdued sales within the third quarter of 2022, when the business was nonetheless recovering from provide chain points.
GM’s enhance considerably outpaced auto analyst expectations for the general business of 15% to 16% for the third quarter. Sales of each one of many Detroit automaker’s manufacturers rose in comparison with a 12 months earlier.
GM and different firms possible will face sales and provide chain issues if the UAW’s strike, which began Sept. 15, is expanded or extended. Only 25,200 staff, or roughly 17% of UAW members coated by the expired contracts with GM, Ford Motor and Stellantis, are a part of the work stoppages.
UAW has been step by step growing the strikes for the reason that work stoppages started, after the perimeters failed to achieve tentative agreements by Sept 14. The focused, or “stand up,” strikes are happening as a substitute of nationwide walkouts through which all crops concurrently strike.
National strikes have an effect on the businesses extra rapidly. The focused walkouts purpose to protect the union’s funds and lengthen the work stoppages to maintain the automakers off keel.
The impacts of the strikes will possible start displaying in October for sure autos such as the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickups, the place work stoppages have affected manufacturing, in keeping with Cox Automotive chief economist Jonathan Smoke.
2024 Chevrolet Trax (left) and 2024 Buick Envista
Michael Wayland / CNBC
“Thus far, the affect has been pretty muted,” Smoke said in a Friday blog post. “Should the strike towards manufacturing websites additional develop, the extra weak merchandise are the massive SUVs from Chevrolet and Cadillac, which have tighter stock ranges in comparison with their home rivals.”
For GM, the UAW strikes have hit manufacturing of the midsize pickups and Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave SUVs.
GM’s sales heading into the fourth quarter have been up greater than 19% to roughly 1.97 million autos bought within the U.S. That included greater than 20,000 electrical car sales, a 28% enhance in comparison with the second quarter.
Notably, the automaker began promoting new electrical variations of its Chevrolet Blazer SUV and Silverado pickup in the course of the third quarter. The firm additionally elevated manufacturing and sales of the Cadillac Lyriq EV and Hummer fashions in the course of the quarter. However, sales nonetheless pale compared to Tesla’s electric vehicle deliveries.
During the quarter, GM additionally was assisted by progress of newer, entry-level models such as the Chevrolet Trax and Buick Envista, each of that are being imported from crops in South Korea.