Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
Leading automakers have released their 2024 shipment numbers and General Motors (NYSE: GM) maintained its leading market position in the US market. Notably, while stock prices of global automakers sagged last year, GM outperformed the broader markets.
GM sold 2.7 million vehicles last year in the US which was 4% higher than in 2023. The Detroit giant maintained its leading market position in the US and estimates that its US market share expanded to 16.5% last year.
GM Reported Strong Sales Numbers for 2024
“The driving force for our business is new vehicles with great design and performance across our portfolio, helping our dealers satisfy more customers. We’re carrying significant momentum into 2025,” said Rory Harvey, GM president of global markets.
Notably, GM’s 2024 US sales were the highest since 2019 when it sold 2.9 million vehicles. GM saw higher sales across all its major brands with Chevrolet sales up 1.5%. GMC sales rose 9% during the year and the brand had a record year.
GM’s electric vehicle (EV) sales rose over 50% to 114,400 units last year and the automaker estimates that it has a 12% market share in the US EV market. However, EVs made up only about 4.2% of its 2024 sales as Tesla continues to rule the US EV market despite gradually losing market share.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s global sales fell 1.1% last year, marking the first time the Elon Musk-run company reported an annual fall in deliveries. Tesla hasn’t provided a breakdown of its US deliveries, but its deliveries grew YoY in China, so in all likelihood, the company’s US sales fell on a yearly basis last year.
GM Expects Variable Profits in EV Business in Q4
Currently, GM’s EV business is posting losses but the company is hopeful of turning around a variable profit in Q4 2024. It expects the operating losses in the EV business to narrow by between $2 billion-$4 billion this year.
Both GM and Ford have scaled back their EV expansion plans amid slow sales and the price war. With Donald Trump set to return as the US president, the outlook for the US EV industry looks hazy at best, as, among other things, his transition team is considering eliminating the EV tax credit.
GM Exited Cruise Robotaxi Business
In December, GM announced that it would exit the Cruise robotaxi business and instead focus on autonomous driving for personal vehicles. GM’s robotaxi business was burning a lot of cash, and the competition in the industry is set to intensify with Tesla launching its Cybercab earlier this year.
In its release, GM said that it won’t fund the robotaxi business any further “given the considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business, along with an increasingly competitive robotaxi market.”
Meanwhile, GM will continue to develop fully autonomous driving technology for personal cars. The decision to quit only robotaxi and not autonomous driving might sound a bit perplexing as autonomous driving software is at the core of robotaxis.
Notably, while the US market has been strong for GM, the company is facing serious headwinds in China. The country has been a particularly tough market for foreign automakers and they have been losing market share to domestic Chinese companies. GM’s China operations also posted a loss in Q3 2024 but the company is not giving up on that market yet. Last month, it restructured its China operations and incurred over $5 billion in charges.
Ford’s US Sales Rose 6% in 2024
Ford’s retail sales rose to 2.08 million units in 2024. While sales of ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles rose by a mere 0.2%, shipments of electrified vehicles that include both battery electric vehicles and hybrids rose an impressive 38.3% during the year and accounted for 13.7% of its total sales.
Notably, Ford has put a lot of emphasis on hybrid vehicles even as the company has scaled back its ambitious EV plans. During the Q3 2024 earnings call, Ford CEO Jim Farley said, “A lot of our companies shunned hybrids and now they’re scrambling, but it’s going to take them years to catch up.” He added that Ford holds an 80% market share in the hybrid pickup market and sales have more than doubled in two years.
“Most of our competitors don’t offer hybrid on an F-150 or a Maverick. And this has been a fantastic revenue opportunity for us. We frankly can’t keep up with the demand,” added Farley.
Incidentally, GM which became the first Detroit automaker to commit to an all-electric future by 2035 has also changed its strategy and will bring back hybrids. Toyota too offers a diverse set of products ranging from EVs, hybrids, and hydrogen cars.
Toyota Was the Second-Largest Seller in the US
Toyota’s US sales rose 3.7% to over 2.3 million units and it had the second largest market seller after GM. Ford held the third spot while Hyundai brands – which includes both Hyundai and Kia came in fourth. Notably, both Hyundai and Kia had a record year in the US even as both Ford and GM sold fewer vehicles than they did in 2019.
Stellantis meanwhile held the sixth spot as the automaker continued to lose market share in the US. Last month, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares resigned from the company amid the company’s mounting woes.
Tavares took over as Stellantis CEO in early 2021 when the company merged with Fiat Chrysler to create a global automotive behemoth. The company owns brands like Chrysler, Fiat, Peugeot, Ram, Jeep, Maserati, and Opel and is the fourth largest automaker globally.
The UAW, which has had a strained relationship with Stellantis welcomed Tavares’ resignation. UAW president Shawn Fain termed his departure “a major step in the right direction for a company that has been mismanaged and a workforce that has been mistreated for too long.” Fain blamed “reckless mismanagement of the company” under Tavares for Stellantis’ current woes. He added, “Tavares is leaving behind a mess of painful layoffs and overpriced vehicles sitting on dealership lots.”
All said, GM’s performance stands out as compared to other automakers. The company raised its 2024 guidance during all the earnings calls last year and markets also rewarded the stock accordingly. While Ford stock closed in the red, GM stock outperformed not only Ford but also the S&P 500 Index last year.
