"August retail sales were up almost 30,000 units compared to last year. That's great news. This was one of the stronger retail months of 2006, with our performance led by such launch vehicles as the Pontiac Torrent and G6, Saturn Sky, Chevrolet Cobalt, Impala and Buick Lucerne," said Mark LaNeve, General Motors North America vice president, Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "Importantly, we're capitalizing on the sale of fuel-efficient cars and trucks including such "30 mpg and Above Club" members as Pontiac G6 coupe and G5, Chevy HHR, Cobalt, Malibu and Impala, and Saab 9-3. Our large pickup retail sales for Chevrolet Silverado, Avalanche and GMC Sierra were up 27 percent compared with a year ago. Customers clearly are responding to the quality, value, versatility and fuel efficiency of our cars and trucks. We encourage everyone in the new-vehicle market to take advantage of our Final Summer Bonus Cash sales event that runs through September 5."

Due to the success of new products, GM has seen sales strengthen over the last few months. GM market share on a retail basis has improved significantly in the last 90 days due to great launch vehicle performance and a broad-range of fuel-efficient vehicles.

GM also continues to reduce its reliance on low-margin daily rental sales. Daily rental sales were down 20 percent compared to year-ago levels, and were down 23 percent compared to July 2006. Total fleet sales (including daily rentals) were down 15 percent (14,112 vehicles) compared to year-ago levels.

Total GM U.S. retail passenger car sales are up 5 percent versus August last year, demonstrating that GM can compete in all product categories and take advantage of shifting consumer preferences.

Buick Lucerne, Pontiac G6, Chevy Malibu and Impala drove the mid-car category. There were retail deliveries of 9,021 Buick Lucerne; 7,889 Pontiac G6 (up 18 percent) and 10,109 Chevy Impala (up 62 percent) vehicles last month.

Chevrolet retail sales were up 8 percent, to 144,640 vehicles, led by an 11-percent increase in retail truck deliveries. Chevrolet also had a 3-percent hike in retail car deliveries, driven by more than 60-percent increases in both Monte Carlo and Impala.

Cadillac retail sales were up 17 percent, to 17,062 vehicles, led by a 22-percent hike in retail trucks, including 3,762 all-new 2007 Escalade and Escalade ESV sales. There was a 13-percent rise in Cadillac retail car deliveries, including 4,041 CTS; 3,138 DTS; and 2,658 STS.

Buick retail deliveries were up 10 percent, to 17,711 vehicles, powered by a 31-percent rise in retail car deliveries. There were 13,981 combined retail deliveries of LaCrosse and Lucerne, marking the third consecutive month exceeding 10,000 units.

Chevrolet HHR and Equinox, Saturn Vue and Pontiac Torrent pushed total small utility sales up 18 percent compared with a year ago, and up 45 percent in the first eight months of the year compared to the same period a year ago. Chevrolet HHR saw a 62-percent increase in retail sales compared to last year and had CYTD deliveries of 53,208 vehicles. Chevrolet Equinox had one of its best retail sales months of the year with 7,737 deliveries.

On the truck side of the market, large pickup truck retail deliveries were up 27 percent with 43,185 Chevy Silverado and 16,530 GMC Sierra trucks sold. Chevy Avalanche retail sales were up 42 percent compared to a year ago. GMC had one of its best retail sales months of the year, with 36,394 vehicles delivered, a 17-percent increase from August 2005. There were 2,002 GMC Canyon retail deliveries. GM sold 5,214 all-new 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche; 11,144 Tahoe; 5,332 Suburban; 5,869 GMC Yukon; and 3,538 Yukon XL vehicles at retail in August.

HUMMER had its second-best total sales month of 2006 with 6,711 total deliveries. H3 led the charge, up 10 percent in total sales over August 2005 with its third best month since launch. CYTD total HUMMER sales of 46,497 vehicles were up 49 percent compared with the same eight months one year ago.

GM's luxury utilities also posted solid retail sales results in August, with the all-new 2007 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV and Cadillac SRX. August was the best retail sales month of the year for large utilities, up 22 percent retail; large luxury utilities were up 17 percent.

GM sports cars also posted very strong August retail sales results, with a 93-percent improvement compared with year-ago levels. Corvette retail sales were up 31 percent, with 2,984 vehicles delivered. Pontiac Solstice (1,515 vehicles) and Saturn Sky (1,073 vehicles) are continuing their brisk retail sales pace.

LaNeve was very encouraged by strong June, July and August sales performances, led by GM's launch vehicles and passenger cars. "Offering industry-leading products with best-in-class features and outstanding fuel economy means we are doing the right thing for the customer. We are seeing a continuing stability in our sales and positive momentum."

August sales for all certified GM brands, including GM Certified Used Vehicles, Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles and HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, were 44,717 units, down 12 percent from last August. Total year-to-date certified GM sales are 347,596 units, down nearly 4 percent from the same period last year.

GM Certified Used Vehicles, the industry's top-selling certified pre-owned brand, posted 38,123 sales in August, down 13 percent from August 2005. Year-to-date sales for GM Certified Used Vehicles are 300,205 units, down 2 percent.

Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles posted 3,609 sales in August, up 4 percent from last August. Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 1,976 units, down 30.5 percent. Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 928 units, up 2 percent. In its eighth month of operation, HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned sold 81 units.

"Although August sales were challenging, the industry's top-selling certified brand, GM Certified Used Vehicles, increased sales 14 percent over July, while both Cadillac and Saab Certified Pre Owned Vehicles showed positive year-to-year gains in August," said LaNeve.

The region's 2006 third quarter production forecast remains unchanged at 1.050 million vehicles (405,000 cars and 645,000 trucks). In the third quarter of 2005 the region produced 1.146 million vehicles (423,000 cars and 723,000 trucks). Additionally, the region's initial 2006 fourth quarter production forecast is set at 1.130 million vehicles (455,000 cars and 675,000 trucks), down approximately 12 percent, or 150,000 units, compared to 2005 fourth quarter actuals. This production adjustment does not reflect a reduction in GM's sales outlook, but is consistent with our strategy to reduce low-margin daily rentals, and takes into account the plan to shift production of pick-ups to the next generation pick-ups during the fourth quarter.

GM Europe - GM Europe's 2006 third quarter production forecast remains unchanged at 372,000 vehicles. In the third quarter of 2005 the region built 412,000 vehicles. The region's 2006 initial fourth quarter production forecast is set at 451,000 units, up 2 percent from 2005 fourth quarter actuals.

GM Asia Pacific -GM Asia Pacific's 2006 third quarter production forecast is revised at 425,000 vehicles, down 13 percent from last month's guidance. In the third quarter of 2005 the region built 409,000 vehicles. The region's 2006 initial fourth quarter production forecast is set at 524,000 units, up 25 percent from 2005 fourth quarter actuals.

GM Latin America, Africa and the Middle East -The region's 2006 third quarter production forecast remains unchanged at 217,000 vehicles. In the third quarter of 2005 the region built 207,000 vehicles. The region's 2006 initial fourth quarter production forecast is set at 211,000 units, up 12 percent from 2005 fourth quarter actuals.

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