General Motors sales slip as it places big bet on pickup trucks

Rene Johnston | Toronto Star | Getty Images

SUVs at a Chevrolet dealership in Oshawa, ON.

General Motors’ sales slipped during the fourth quarter, but the automaker said pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles, and crossovers are still selling strong.

The largest U.S. automaker said Thursday its Chevrolet and GMC brands led the industry in pickup sales for the fifth-consecutive year.

Overall, sales fell 2.7 percent over the fourth quarter of 2018 from the same time period the previous year, the company said.

“”We feel confident heading into 2019 because we have more major truck and crossover launches coming during the year and the U.S. economy is strong,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of sales operations at GM.

GM is in the midst of restructuring. Late last year the automaker said it plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs in North America, including both salaried positions and factory jobs. GM plans to shift more of its portfolio toward trucks, SUVs, and crossovers, which are currently more popular than ever among buyers. These vehicles tend to fetch higher transaction prices (and bigger profits) for automakers, which GM desperately needs as it sinks money into new businesses such as ride-sharing, and new technologies such as self-driving cars.