Michelle Krebs comments
GM to break tradition by not reporting monthly sales
Tuesday April 3, 2018
Article Highlights
- “I think they might get a little bit of backlash from some who say they are not being transparent enough,” said Michelle Krebs, automotive analyst for AutoTrader.
- But GM and Ford Motor Co. already are more transparent than the rest of the industry with their monthly sales data, she added, reporting metrics like average transaction prices, days-supply and incentive spending.
- “What will be interesting to watch is, will everyone follow suit? My hunch is that eventually, yes, they will,” Krebs said, pointing to the industry’s abandonment of first 10-day and then 20-day sales reporting cycles.
General Motors Co. is ceasing monthly vehicle sales reporting in favor of quarterly releases, breaking an auto industry tradition that has outlasted similar shifts in retailing, technology and other industries.
March car and truck sales, to be released Tuesday, will be the automaker’s final monthly report. Its first quarterly U.S. sales report would be issued in July and will be released separately from its quarterly financial reports to investors.
“Thirty days is not enough time to separate real sales trends from short-term fluctuations in a very dynamic, highly competitive market,” Kurt McNeil, GM’s U.S. vice president for sales operations, said in a statement. “Reporting sales quarterly better aligns with our business, and the quality of information will make it easier to see how the business is performing.”