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GM raises 2023 guidance on strong sales, higher profits

General Motors beat first-quarter profit estimates and raised its full-year earnings and cash-flow guidance after vehicle demand at the start of the year surpassed expectations. Its shares rose in premarket trading. GM made $2.21 a share in adjusted profit in the first quarter, compared to a consensus forecast of $1.72 a share. Revenue rose 11% to $39.99 billion, it said Tuesday, which was more than the $39.24 billion analysts expected. The stronger results stem from rising sales in the US, even in the face of higher interest rates and inflation. GM executives said demand was strong enough to revise 2023 guidance upward, boosting profit estimates for the year by $500 million to between $11 billion and $13 billion. “We did it with strong production and inventory discipline and consistent pricing,” GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said on a call with journalists. “All in all, weÂ’re feeling confident about 2023.” The Detroit automaker raised per-share full-year guidance to between $6.35 and $7.35, up from $6 to $7 a share, and said free cash flow would also increase by $500 million to a range of $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion.  GMÂ’s shares pared a gain of as much as 4.4% before the start of regular trading Tuesday, rising 3.5% to $35.50 as of 6:55 a.m. in New York. The stock was up 1.9% for the year as of the close on Monday.  North American Strength The automakerÂ’s sales were particularly strong in North America, where first-quarter earnings rose before interest and taxes rose to $3.6 billion. Vehicle sales rose 18% to 707,000 in the region. Jacobson said the company originally expected to sell 15 million vehicles in the US this year, slightly less than the 15.5 million annualized rate automakers foresaw in the first quarter. North American demand was enough to offset a weak performance in China, GMÂ’s second-largest market. The automaker continues to struggle in the country, where its vehicle sales fell 25% to 462,000 vehicles in the quarter. Profits from its joint ventures in the market slumped 65% to $83 million.  The market has struggled overall in the wake of Covid-19 restrictions and foreign automakers have had to overcome a growing preference for Chinese brands by competing on price, squeezing profit margins. The situation in China probably wonÂ’t significantly improve until the second half of the year, according to Jacobson. GM remains on target to sell 150,000 electric vehicles this year, the CFO said.

Cadillac ATS failing to command BMW 3 Series-like pricing as hoped

The BMW 3 Series has long been the benchmark for small and sporty luxury vehicles, but the Cadillac ATS has come on strong in its short time on the market as a true rival in this segment. As impressive as Cadillac's new compact sedan is, however, Automotive News is reporting that the car is still lagging behind the 3 Series when it comes to actual transaction pricing.
According to the article, the average transaction price for the ATS is $39,459 while the 3 Series is at a much larger $44,764, but, just as importantly, Cadillac has about $500 more in incentives on the ATS compared to BMW. Transaction prices are much closer to cars like the Mercedes C-Class and Audi A4. Of course, this is all with the ATS trying to take on its small,sport sedan rivals with a single bodystyle and limited powertrain options compared to the numerous options available from the German automakers in this class.
This uneven battle won't last long, though, as recent spy shots have revealed that Cadillac is hard at work on a high-performance ATS-V and an ATS Coupe. No official word as to when either of these models will be unveiled, but with auto show season set to kick off, we're expecting sooner rather than later. The best news for the ATS is that the Automotive News says sales of the ATS are on target and that 74 percent of ATS buyers are new to Cadillac - two important factors for the brand as it tries to break into this tough segment.

Recharge Wrap-up: BMW to test autonomous cars, Korea bans sales of BMW, Nissan, Porsche models

BMW will test autonomous cars on public roads by the second half of 2017. The German automaker, with partners Mobileye and Intel, will operate a fleet of 40 self-driving vehicles using a "scalable architecture" that will be made available to other automakers. The partners plan to offer products ranging from key components to "a complete end-to-end solution" for autonomous driving. Since parting ways with Tesla, Mobileye also recently announced it would provide its technology to Lucid Motors. For BMW, it all leads up to its fully autonomous iNext model slated for introduction in 2021. See the video above, and read more in the press release from Intel. South Korea has banned the sale of certain models from BMW, Nissan, and Porsche over emissions cheating. Following an investigation, regulators determined emissions testing documents to be falsified. The country's Ministry of Environment has fined the three automakers a total of $5.9 million, and revoked the certification of 4,523 vehicles across banned 10 models. Six of the models were still on sale, while the other four have been discontinued. Read more from Automotive News Europe. China's prices for the Cadillac CT6 Plug-in are significantly higher than those announced for the US. The plug-in hybrid version of the luxury sedan recently went on sale with the two variants priced at RMB 558,800 and RMB 658,800. At the time of this writing, that's $80,420 and $94,812. Cadillac announced it would bring the CT6 Plug-In Í– which is built in China – to the US in the spring of 2017, starting at $76,090 before federal and local tax incentives. Hybrid Cars points out that China's own generous incentives could help to make it more competitive. The offering of a charger with free installation as well as an eight-year warranty on the electric powertrain should help, too. Read more at Hybrid Cars. A Connecticut court has ruled in favor of Tesla's gallery showroom in Greenwich. Last May, the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association brought the suit to block the showroom on Greenwich Avenue, which has now been dismissed by the Connecticut Superior Court. Tesla cannot offer test drives, sell cars, or operate a Supercharger at the location, but it can sell other branded items and educate the public about its vehicles. It's possible that the issue of Tesla's direct sales model could come up again this year in Connecticut state legislature. Read more at Teslarati .