GM August Sales Drop 25 Percent Year on Year

General Motors Co. Wednesday announced an 11 percent drop in auto sales in August for its four core brands compared with a year-ago when sales were fueled by the government's Cash for Clunkers incentives. The automaker saw a 25 percent decrease in total sales for the month.

Retail sales, excluding fleet sales, for all eight brands were down 29 percent.

"Last year's Cash for Clunkers program spiked industry sales in 2009, so results this August were not surprisingly a bit mixed," said Don Johnson, vice president of U.S. Sales Operations.

GM's four viable brands were reported a 7 percent dropoff from July, suggesting the road to recovery continues to be a long and sputtering one.

The fastest growing brand is Buick, which is up 61 percent for the year and 66 percent in August.

Cadillac saw an 83 percent increase in August and is pacing 50 percent ahead of a year ago.

Chevrolet took the biggest hit in sales last month with a 22 percent decline from August 2009 but is up 19 percent year-to-date. The brand is counting on the launch of the Volt electric vehicle in November and the Cruze compact car this month to boost brand sales.

GMC saw a 12 percent increase for the month and is up 26 percent for the year.

Among the discontinued brands, Hummer for the month was down 74 percent, Pontiac down 99 percent, Saab is off by 91 percent and Saturn is down 100 percent.

GM's inventory at the end of August was about 452,000 units, which is about 73,000 higher than a year ago when consumers were taking advantage of the government stimulus program.