Strong demand for trucks and crossovers led General Motors to post an 18 percent rise year-over-year in U.S. sales last month to 202,786 units.
DETROIT, MI - Strong demand for trucks and crossovers led General Motors to post an 18 percent rise year-over-year in U.S. sales last month to 202,786 units.
Deliveries of pickup trucks were up 42 percent on an annual basis in January, after a 43 percent rise in December.
"Consumers feel very good because more people are working, the U.S. economy is expanding and fuel prices are low," Kurt McNeil, GM's U.S. vice president of sales operations, said in a release Tuesday morning. "Consumer and commercial demand for trucks and crossovers is really driving our business, and our move into the small crossover segment with the Chevrolet Trax and Buick Encore, and mid-size pickups with the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, was well-timed."
(Related: Ford reports best U.S. sales for January in 11 years)
(Related: FCA US has best January since 2007 with 14% sales bump)
Here's a closer look at how each brand fared on a year-over-year basis in January:
Chevrolet
Chevrolet sales rose 20 percent to 142,882 units. That was led by sales of the Silverado, which increased 25 percent to 36,106 units. Sales of the Traverse jumped 89 percent to 10,151 units, while sales of the Tahoe climbed 88 percent to 6,607 units.
Sales were also strong for the Equinox, which posted a 34 percent rise to 19,555 units.
Poor performers in January included the Impala, which dropped 23 percent to 9,214 units, and the Sonic, which saw a 47 percent drop to 3,521 units. Sales of the Volt were off 41 percent to 542 units.
GMC
The GMC brand's sales increased 29 percent to 35,671 units, as every SUV and crossover for the brand posted a rise. Leading it all, sales of the Sierra grew 14 percent to 12,621 units, and sales of the Terrain climbed 25 percent to 8,844 units.
Buick
Buick posted a 6 percent drop in sales to 12,553 units. LaCrosse sales fell 29 percent to 2,023 units, Verano sales decreased 11 percent to 2,776 units and Enclave sales were flat at 3,497 units sold. Sales of the Encore partially offset these declines, with a 46 percent rise to 3,465 units - a record January for the model.
Cadillac
Cadillac sales were up 3 percent to 11,680 units. Demand for the Escalade was high, with the standard model SUV's sales jumping 136 percent to 1,664 units, and sales of the Escalade ESV rising 189 percent to 1,100 units. Sales of the XTS rose 14 percent to 1,882 units.
These gains were partially offset by 24 percent drop for the CTS, which sold 1,698 units, and by a 22 percent decline for the SRX, which sold 3,485 units.
Separately, GM plans to release its full-year and fourth-quarter financial results for 2014 on Wednesday at 7:30 a.m.
David Muller is the automotive and business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter