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May 2016: FCA wins, Ford and GM stumble on weak car volumes

The May 2016 sales numbers are in, and it looks as though FCA is getting some vindication for boldly cancelling two slow-selling car models. Meanwhile, Ford saw overall sales dip and GM's May volume took a big dive versus the same month in 2015. While Marchionne's decision to axe the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart has drawn criticism as being short-sighted, it's working for FCA so far. Although the Dart and 200 aren't out of production yet and no capacity has been shifted to crossover or trucks, May's numbers show that the emphasis on Jeep and Ram models makes sense right now. FCA's US sales rose 1 percent last month compared to May 2015, putting the year-to-date total at 955,186 vehicles, an increase of 6 percent compared to the same period last year. Standouts included the Jeep Renegade, Compass, and Patriot, and the Fiat 500X. Ram pickup sales were down 3 percent. And your fun fact is that Alfa Romeo sales were up precisely 10 percent, for a total of 44 4Cs sold versus 40 in the same month last year. At FoMoCo, the Ford brand took a hit to the tune of 6.4 percent from May 2015 to 2016, registering 226,190 sales last month. Lincoln showed improvement on its modest numbers, going from 9,174 to 9,807, a 6.9 percent increase. Overall, Ford was down 5.9 percent for the month to 235,997; despite the slump, year-to-date total Ford sales are up 4.2 percent to 1,112,939. Strong sellers included Escape, Expedition, F-Series, and Transit - big stuff. Most small and/or efficient models (Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, C-Max) saw sales slides. Fusion sales were also down, likely due to effects of model changeover to the freshened 2017 model. Ford has promised four new crossovers and SUVs by 2020 and if things keep trending this way the company will be able to sell them, but things could change in the next four years. GM saw the worst of it for domestic brands. Retail and fleet sales were down for each of the four divisions, with the May 2016 total dropping 18 percent to 240,450 vehicles. GM's year-to-date sales are down 5.0 percent in 2016 to 1,183,705. Both the Sierra and Silverado were down significantly, and the majority of Chevy, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac nameplates saw sales decreases, with both small cars and larger utilities included. Not even big stuff could help GM this month, it seems. We'll have more on the rest of the industry's May sales as those figures trickle in.

GM cutting production at two plants

General Motors is continuing to adjust to excess supply of some of its brands' models. To get production more in line with the vehicles' actual demand, the automotive giant is idling two of its factories in North America in the coming months. The Orion Assembly plant is going to be down from March 9-13, according to an anonymous plant worker and another insider speaking to Automotive News. The factory builds the Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano, but there are plenty of both models sitting on dealer lots, including 216 days worth of Sonics, according to AN. The factory already had two idle periods announced to reduce the excess. In addition, downtime is scheduled at GM's "Flex" line at the Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, plant from April 13-17. This affects supply of the Chevrolet Camaro, Impala, Buick Regal and Cadillac XTS. Among them, the automotive giant has the largest supply of Regals ready for dealers with 213 days worth of them, according to AN. The future for the whole Oshawa factory is cloudy in general, though. There are rumors that it could close entirely in the future because the Camaro is leaving and the Regal and XTS might not last much longer than 2017. The Canadian government and the labor union there intend to put up a fight, though. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Bill Pugliano / Getty Images Plants/Manufacturing Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM orion assembly oshawa plant idle

2022 Buick Encore starts at $25,795

The Buick Encore entered the market here for the 2013 model year, its combination of solid, practical, and premium-ish content working well enough to increase sales by about 10% every year until 2019. The shine on that first-year model was such that it was recently voted one of the best used-car buys under $10,000. Still in its first generation, the Encore soldiers into the 2022 model year with a few small changes. The biggest update for the 2022 Encore is a newer 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine with more power. The previous unit produced 138 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque; the new 1.4 will unleash 155 hp and 177 lb-ft. That engine will only be available on the Preferred trim — which is the only one left. In 2018, the Encore came in six flavors. Whittling reduced that to a base model and a Preferred model for 2021, and for next year the base departs. Also (kind of) under the hood, an electric heater and defroster replace the traditional heater core system, for faster toasties in cold climes.  The only change outside is the addition of an exterior temperature sensor. Inside, the eight-inch infotainment touchscreen shrinks to become a seven-inch touchscreen. The passenger's seatback will no longer fold flat, so Buick took the opportunity to add a seatback map pocket to the shotgun position. Buick will charge $25,795 for the 2022 Encore, that figure including the $1,195 destination charge. It's the same price as the 2021 Encore Preferred.  The continued paring of the lineup suggests GM is ready to wind the model down now that the tiny-bit-larger and more profitable Encore GX is killing the Encore in the sales race. Through the end of September, the Encore is down on its 2020 sales volume in the U.S. by about half, whereas the Encore GX has more than doubled its 2020 sales so far this year. Automotive News reported that the Encore will quit the U.S. market in 2023 without a replacement as the automaker digs into its electric efforts. GM Authority believes there's a chance the new-generation Encore sold in China could come here.