Sales of General Motors (GM) vehicles soared 46% in February as consumers snapped up new GM models despite the steadily rising price of gasoline. GM said Tuesday that it sold 207,028 vehicles during the month, exceeding analyst expectations. The Detroit-based automaker attributed the increase to continued gains in consumer sales, which rose 70%, the company said in a written statement.
Among its four core brands -- Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC -- GM reported a 49% sales gain.
So far this year, GM's total sales -- which include fleet sales -- have risen 36%, while retail sales have increased by 52%. Retail sales of GM's cars, trucks and crossovers all rose at least 59%, GM said.
"Our plan was to get off to a quick start this year, and we did just that," said Don Johnson, vice president of U.S. sales. "Having the right vehicles in inventory, combined with aggressive advertising and targeted consumer marketing has been the key to our success in the first two months this year."
GM was the first of the major automakers to announce its February U.S. sales figures. Others, including Ford (F) and Toyota (TM), will release their sales data later on Tuesday.
