General Motors just rang the alarm. Second-quarter U.S. sales dropped 4.2% — and the numbers are uglier than they look. The culprit? Not just the EV slowdown everyone's been talking about. It's the Chevrolet Silverado, America's perennial best-seller, suddenly coughing and sputtering.
GM moved 696,086 vehicles in the three months ending June 30. That's 30,000 fewer than last year. The company blamed a planned shutdown at its Fort Wayne assembly plant for retooling. But that's only half the story.
EVs: The Hype Hits Reality
GM's all-electric sales fell 12% year-over-year. The Chevrolet Bolt, once the darling of affordable EVs, saw deliveries drop 22%. The GMC Hummer EV, a $100,000 behemoth, is still selling — but to a very narrow slice of buyers. Meanwhile, the Cadillac Lyriq, GM's luxury EV hope, grew 8% — but from a tiny base.
“We're seeing a normalization of EV demand,” said GM's U.S. sales chief, Rory Harvey, in a call with analysts. “Customers are taking longer to decide. They're waiting for more charging infrastructure and lower prices.”
Translation: The early adopters have bought. The mass market is hesitating. And GM is stuck with factories running below capacity.
The company still insists it will hit its target of 1 million EV sales by 2028. But at this pace, they'd need a miracle — or a price war they can't afford.
The Silverado Problem Nobody's Talking About
Here's the real kicker: Silverado sales dropped 8% in Q2. That's 20,000 trucks that didn't leave the lot. GM's cash cow is losing milk.
The competition is brutal. Ford's F-150 posted a 3% gain. Ram's pickup line grew 2%. Toyota's Tundra? Up 11%. GM is getting outmuscled in its own backyard.
Part of the blame goes to the aforementioned retooling. GM shut down its Fort Wayne plant for two weeks in April to prepare for the next-gen Silverado. But that doesn't explain why dealers are reporting higher inventories and thinner margins.
“The Silverado is still a great truck,” said one Midwestern dealer who asked not to be named. “But GM's incentives are getting fatter. We're offering $3,000 off just to move units. That's not a good sign.”
Incentives across GM's truck lineup rose 15% compared to last year, according to J.D. Power. When you have to buy market share, you're losing the war.
What's Going Right? Maybe One Thing
Not everything is on fire. GM's crossover lineup — the Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain, and Buick Envision — held steady, with a combined 1% gain. The Buick brand, after years of irrelevance, is actually growing, thanks to a redesigned Envision that looks like a mini Bentley.
And fleet sales — vehicles sold to rental companies and businesses — jumped 9%. That's good for volume, but bad for profitability. Fleet buyers get deep discounts. It's the retail customer who pays the bills.
GM's average transaction price remained flat at around $49,000. That's high, but stubborn inflation and interest rates are squeezing buyers. The Federal Reserve hasn't cut rates yet. Car loans are running at 7% or more. GM's finance arm, GM Financial, reported a slight uptick in delinquencies — nothing alarming yet, but the trend line is ugly.
The Bigger Picture: GM Is Caught Between Two Worlds
GM is trying to be two things at once: a legacy automaker that churns out profitable trucks and SUVs, and a Silicon Valley-style tech company that sells software and batteries. Right now, it's failing at the transition.
The EV division is burning cash. GM's Cruise autonomous vehicle unit lost $2.3 billion last year and shows no signs of profit. Meanwhile, the internal combustion business is subsidizing these bets. But if the Silverado starts slipping, the math gets scary.
Wall Street is already nervous. GM's stock is down 12% year-to-date. Analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock last week, citing “execution risk” on both EVs and legacy products.
The company's response? A new battery factory in Ohio is ramping up. A cheaper EV platform is due in 2027. And the next-gen Silverado — with a plug-in hybrid option — is coming next year. But those are promises for later. Right now, GM needs to sell cars.
The Verdict
GM's Q2 numbers are a warning shot. The EV transition is hitting a pothole. The truck market is getting crowded. And the company's costs are too high. Mary Barra needs to make some hard choices — cut prices, cut costs, or cut expectations. The old GM would have pushed through with gimmicks and discounts. The new GM is supposed to be smarter. Let's see.
