2 posts tagged “gmc”
With increasing scrutiny on fuel consumption and efficiency, General Motors may be switching gears and reducing its dependency on truck- based sport utility vehicles.
Demand from consumers as well as the government has been putting pressure on GM to boost fuel efficiency, causing a reported interest in creating lighter, car-based SUVs. This trend is evident among Bob Watson Chevrolet drivers who have felt the increased cost at the pump. Many of GM’s SUVs such as the full-size Chevrolet Tahoe currently rides on a heavy truck chassis which is shared with pickup truck platforms.
The Chevrolet Silverado and other GM pickups essentially share identical chassis with a wide range of large SUVs including the Chevrolet Suburban, Cadillac Escalate, and GMC Yukon. By switching to a car based chassis, the formula changes dramatically as their popular SUVs will have to be changed from the ground up.
This move is partially aimed to satisfy new government requirements. By 2020, the government demands that vehicles will need to cut down on fuel consumption by 40 percent and boost the consumption average up to 35 miles per gallon.
Making vehicles lighter is part of the new equation to curb excessive fuel consumption. As the price of fuel continues to skyrocket across the country, dealers such as GMC Rochester need vehicles that get consumers excited and offer greater efficiency, and the move is not only to appease government demands, but is also a way to satisfy growing consumer demands for efficiency.
The move to a unibody or car-based design will force GM to spend more money on developing new platforms. Even Ford has struggled to provide additional crossovers and fuel efficient vehicles, resulting in strong sales of the Ford Edge and Escape at Ford Dealers Ashland. Sharing platforms between trucks and SUVs has helped the company save since the vehicles used common parts and components.
Sales of gas guzzling
trucks and SUVs have declined dramatically recently as the price of gasoline
hovers around $4 per gallon in many parts of the country. With a costly move to
make larger SUVs more efficient, it could make the automaker more profitable in
the long run. Raynham New Buick dealers have already seen improvements, as vehicles such as the Buick Enclave offer both incredible size and cargo capacity as well as moderate efficiency.
***
More GMC vehicle news coming shortly.
General Motors may be following the lead of other automakers
in removing brands from lineup. Aside from General Motors, Ford has already
ditched many of their slow selling premium brands including Jaguar and Land
Rover to focus on its main Ford lineup. Likewise, GM has faced slowing sales
across the board, a factor that has slowed truck inventory at Ford Orange County, and with the rising cost of gasoline more consumers are
demanding affordable and fuel efficient models.
GM has been forced to close several truck and sport utility
assembly plants recently and cut production back to become more in-line with
consumer demand. In addition, to sales down more than 16% this year, GM’s stock
has dipped below $10 – a first since 1954. Job cuts may also be an option in
the near option to help save the ailing automaker.
With development, manufacturing, and other costs continuing
to increase, GM has its hands full, and the selling or dissolving of at least one
brand seems almost imminent. So far, Chevrolet and Cadillac are the strongest
selling brands for General Motors.
Buick is perhaps one of the weakest brands in the GM lineup. This year, Buck has experienced a 21% decrease in sales. In addition, Saab continues to be a relatively low volume brand. One of the strongest brands under the GM umbrella continues to be Chevrolet, which offers vehicles such as the Chevy Cobalt and Aveo which have both picked up sales momentum at San Diego Chevrolet and other Chevy dealers. Saturn, despite introductions of new models, has also seen steep declines in sales.
GM dealers are also concerned about the products being offered by the automaker. Many dealers are seeing flaws in the automaker's lineup, including GMC Rochester which noticed a lackluster response to newer models including the GMC Yukon Hybrid which doesn't quite give the fuel efficiency that is currently in high demand.
Executives and analytics have also suggested that Hummer may be the first brand to go. As the price of gasoline continues to rise above $4 per gallon, the Hummer lineup which includes only large sport utilities and trucks is showing weak sales and certainly doesn’t help the automaker’s image among increasingly eco-conscious consumers.
***
Get the latest General Motors and domestic automaker news here.
