GM sales up 4.8% in fourth quarter as auto prices hit record highs

General Motors reported a 4.8% year-over-year increase in sales during the fourth quarter of 2020, with the Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac brands all seeing gains during the period while Buick was down 10%.

The automaker said it recorded its best retail sales result for the period since 2007 with a 12% increase over 2019, but its full-year deliveries of 2,547,339 were down 11.8% due to economic and production issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Tight supplies resulting from several weeks of factory shutdowns earlier in the year kept sales of its top-selling Chevrolet Silverado 1500 flat for the year but helped drive average transaction prices across the lineup to fourth-quarter and full-year records of $41,886 and $39,229.

“We look forward to an inflection point for the U.S. economy in spring,” said GM Chief Economist Elaine Buckberg said in a sales report release. “Widening vaccination rates and warmer weather should enable consumers and businesses to return to a more normal range of activities, lifting the job market, consumer sentiment and auto demand.”

GM said it expects to show an increase in market share in the U.S. after all automakers file their annual sales reports.