GM first-quarter U.S. vehicle sales fall 1.5%

Detroit – General Motors U.S. auto sales fell 1.5% annually in the first quarter, a report said on Tuesday, as the overall auto industry gradually returned to normal after years of chaos and erratic performance.

The Detroit automaker said sales fell to 594,233 vehicles in the first three months of the year, mainly due to a 22.9% annual decline in fleet customer sales. General Motors said customer retail sales increased 6%.

First-quarter sales of General Motors’ all-electric vehicles, which are closely watched by Wall Street, remained minimal. Electric vehicle sales were 16,425 units, accounting for 2.8% of the automaker’s total sales during the same period.

GM’s sales fell short of overall industry expectations, with Cox Automotive expecting the industry to rise 5.5% from a year ago.

Buick was the only GM brand to report sales growth this quarter, up 16.4% from the year before. The GMC truck brand fell about 5%, while Cadillac and Chevrolet both fell about 2%.

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