GM U.S. vehicle sales fall 1.5% during the first quarter

DETROIT – General Motors on Tuesday reported a 1.5% decline in first quarter U.S. vehicle sales compared to a year ago, as the overall auto industry normalizes after years of disruptions and volatile results.

The Detroit automaker said the decline to 594,233 vehicles sold during the first three months of the year was largely due to a 22.9% year-over-year decline in sales to fleet customers. Retail sales to customers were up 6%, GM said.

Sales of GM’s all-electric vehicles, closely watched by Wall Street, remained miniscule during the first quarter. EV sales were 16,425 units, or 2.8% of the automaker’s overall sales during the period.

GM’s sales are below expectations for the overall industry, which Cox Automotive forecast to be up 5.5% from a year earlier.

Buick was the only GM brand to report a sales increase during the quarter, up 16.4% from a year earlier. The GMC truck brand was off about 5%, while Cadillac and Chevrolet were both off about 2%.

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