General Motors to Increase Retail Sales, New Saturn Astra to Debut

News from Reuters: General Motors Corporation is optimistic about its US retail sales this year stating that it is seeing an increase brought about by the introduction of new vehicles, according to Troy Clarke, president of GM North America.

Clarke also told reporters in the sidelines of the Chicago Auto Show, when asked about GM’s capacity to sell more vehicles to the general public this year, “I am hopeful we can”. The retail sales will exclude sales to car rental agencies, large companies or government bodies that purchase fleet of vehicles.

General Motors, world’s largest automaker was able to sell about 3 million vehicles to retail customers in 2006. Clarke also mentioned that the automaker’s discussions with bankrupt former parts unit Delphi Corp. were moving forward.

Delphi has accepted a $3.4 billion bankruptcy emergence offer from a group led by Cerberus Capital Management LP and Appaloosa Management LP that obliged Delphi to reach deals with GM and its unions on contracts and other issues. The contract between GM and the United Auto Workers would expire in September and Delphi said that it hopes to complete talks with the UAW before those negations end. “It is hope that it is done before,” said Clarke in response to subject whether the deal will result in a bigger labor contract with the UAW.

And speaking of new GM vehicles, the new Saturn Astra will make its debut to the North American public at the Chicago Auto Show which is scheduled on February 9 to 18, 2007. The Astra will be made available to both US and Canadian markets starting the fourth quarter of 2007.

The new Saturn Astra is available in three or five-door model with a 1.8-litre, 140 hp ECOTEC engine. The Astra was produced alongside its Opel counterparts using quality auto parts that only the world’s largest automaker can supply like its popular GM exhaust tips at the GM Plant in Antwerp, Belgium.

According to Jill Lajdziak, Saturn General Manager, “In Europe, the Astra’s combination of style, performance, safety technology, and fuel efficiency has made it a hit with owners and auto critics alike. Now, Saturn is bringing the newly restyled Astra to North America and marrying it with our celebrated customer experience. The Astra rounds out our portfolio with a smart-driving, well-equipped compact car that shares the European designs evident in all our new vehicles.”

Since the debut of the third-generation Astra in Europe last March 2004, over 1.3 million units have been sold. The addition of the new bestselling Astra model line with its fresh new design styles and engine is expected to further boost GM’s US sales.

The present lineup of vehicles offered by Saturn includes Aura, the Outlook SUV, Vue Red Line and Vue Green Line Hybrid crossovers, and Roadster Sky. Meanwhile, the Saturn portfolio for the coming 2008 will only includes cars that are less than twenty months old.

Saturn is focusing on developing innovative products with high technological quality, solid value and excellent customer service. Just recently the Saturn Aura - which shares its vehicle architecture and design language with the Opel Vectra - was named North American Car of the Year during the Detroit Auto Show, toppling rivals like the Toyota Camry and Honda Fit (or Jazz in Europe).