General Motors (GM) said automobile sales in U.S. surged 18% in the first quarter of 2023 from a year ago, to over 600,000 vehicles delivered.
“We gained significant market share in the first quarter, pricing was strong, inventories are in very good shape, and we sold more than 20,000 EVs in a quarter for the first time,” GM North America chief Steve Carlisle said in a statement.
In addition to Chevrolet Bolts, GM also sold 968 of its brand-new Cadillac Lyriq EVs, built on the company’s next-generation Ultium EV architecture.
GM has been working to ramp up its production of its Ultium-based electric vehicles, with new high-volume Ultium-based models including an electric Chevrolet Equinox crossover due later in 2023.
GM is also increasing production of its BrightDrop Zevo 600, an electric delivery van, and said truck rental giant Ryder System has agreed to buy 4,000 of the vans between now and 2025.
The company’s EV sales volumes are expected to ramp up sharply from there in 2024 and 2025.
Sales in U.S. of the internal combustion Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups were up a combined 9% from a year ago, helped by a 38% jump in sales to commercial fleets.
With analysts increasingly concerned about high vehicle prices, GM noted that new versions of its affordable Chevrolet Trax and Trailblazer and Buick Encore crossovers will be arriving at dealers over the next several months. All three will have starting prices below $30,000, GM said.
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