The Auto Writer

The beating that the auto industry took last month would have been worse had not General Motors stayed with its Employee Pricing plan throughout September. Introduced in late August, GM extended employee pricing to the end of last month in a bid to clear inventory and boost sales.

By every indication GM’s initiative was a success though its 16.5% drop in sales over September 2007 may belie those numbers. But, when you consider that the average drop was 26.6% for the month, GM’s losses don’t seem so bad. Such are the days in which we live!

Best Selling Vehicle For September 2008

The biggest news for GM in September doesn’t seem to be getting that much press and that news are the sales of its Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. More than 50,000 units sold last month, putting it solidly ahead of the Toyota Camry for second place in year to date vehicle sales, just 22,000 units behind the Ford F-Series, the perennial sales leader for the past three decades.

Lest you think that winning the best selling vehicle award each year isn’t important, you’re missing a bragging point that automakers have been making almost as long as there has been Ford v. Chevy. Though the Silverado is within striking distance of the F-150, Ford has one advantage working in its favor right now: the F-150 is all-new for the 2009 model year and is just now beginning to enter dealer showrooms. That advantage is likely to keep the F-150 #1 for another year, but with truck sales in the tank, a popular car model like the Toyota Camry could wrest leadership from the truck segment.

Employee Pricing Replaced By Other Incentives

Regardless of how the rest of the year plays out, GM has switched from Employee Pricing to zero percent financing and/or cash back on most models. Likely, the boost GM got in September will evaporate in October, particularly if the credit markets remain tight and market uncertainly continues to fuel talk of unemployment or other economic challenges.

With Employee Pricing, GM realized the following sales as shared by Autodata, which tracks this information:

Chevrolet Silverado 50,428
Chevrolet Impala 27,143
Chevrolet Malibu 19.725
GMC Sierra 18,744
Chevrolet Cobalt 16,521
Pontiac G6 10,326

GM ended September with 6 of the 20 top selling vehicles for the month followed by Toyota and Honda, which each placed 4 models on the list.

A Buyer’s Market For Now

Consumers who want a car and have the means to pay cash or arrange financing will find themselves to be in good shape for the rest of the year as automakers seek to clear inventory as 2009 models arrive. Remainder prices on 2008 models will offer the best deals going, especially for large trucks and SUVs. With gas prices dropping below $3 per gallon in some areas of the country, look for the sales drop in bigger vehicles to ease, at least for the next several months.