OREANDA-NEWS. General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) dealers delivered 226,819 vehicles in the United States in October for the company's best October sales in seven years. Chevrolet sales were up year over year on the strength of the Silverado, Cruze, Traverse and Equinox, and Buick had its best October in more than a decade. Total company sales a year ago were 226,402 units.

“The U.S. economy has steadily improved all year and now we are poised for a stronger expansion backed by an improved job market, higher consumer confidence and lower fuel prices,” said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of Sales Operations. “We have a strong hand to play, with the industry's newest and most complete line-up of pickups and SUVs, class-leading crossovers like the Buick Encore and a wealth of new products in the pipeline.”

The all-new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon mid-size pickups began shipping to dealers in the second half of September, the Chevrolet City Express van began shipping a week ago and the Chevrolet Trax small crossover launches in early 2015.

October Sales Highlights (vs. 2013 except as noted)

Sales of the Cadillac CTS rose 49 percent and Escalade deliveries were up 18 percent.

A 51 percent increase in Chevrolet Cruze deliveries drove GM's compact car sales to their highest level since 2003.

The Chevrolet Traverse was up 24 percent and the Equinox was up 3 percent.

Total GM pickup sales were 67,689 units, up 13 percent.

The Chevrolet Silverado was up 10 percent, with 46,966 units delivered. The GMC Sierra was up 13 percent, and combined deliveries of the all-new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon were 2,158 units, with showroom availability improving steadily.

Demand for GM's new large SUVs continues to be very strong, with Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban retail sales up 18 percent and 9 percent, respectively. GMC Yukon and Yukon XL retail deliveries were up 49 percent and 51 percent, respectively.

At Buick, the Enclave was up 2 percent, the LaCrosse was up 6 percent and the Encore was up 33 percent, making it the industry's best-selling small SUV for seven months in a row.

Industrywide, almost half of the small SUVs sold to retail customers were Buick Encores, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates. Growth was especially strong in the Southeast, where Encore's segment share was up 18 percentage points to about 50 percent, and the West, where it was up 10 percentage points to about 36 percent.

During the month, GM's average transaction prices (ATPs) reached a record USD 34,700, according to PIN estimates. ATPs were up USD 150 per unit compared to September, and up USD 2,200 year over year. The company has now posted 25 consecutive months of year-over-year ATP increases.

According to PIN, GM's incentive spending as a percentage of ATPs declined more than the industry average versus September, and once again it was the lowest of all domestic automakers.

PIN estimates that GM's incentive spending was 11.3 percent of ATP, down 0.7 percentage points from September, while industry average spending was 9.6 percent of ATP, down 0.6 points. Last October, GM's incentive spending was 10.2 percent, and the industry average was 9.1 percent.

In October, GM's fleet sales were up 6 percent. The company posted a 30-percent gain in commercial sales, marking the 12th consecutive month of year-over-year growth. The increase was driven by small cars, compact crossovers and large pickups. Sales to government customers were also up 30 percent, including an 81 percent gain in large pickup deliveries. Sales to rental customers were down 6 percent.