GM reported its February sales results yesterday and, well, they weren't good, falling 12% from last year. Sales were abysmal across the board, as truck sales fell 8.5% to 179,390, while car sales dropped 17% to 129,985.
Every GM brand reported a decrease in sales compared with last year. Oh, sorry. Under "Other-Isuzu," which consists of commercial Isuzu vehicles distributed by GM, I see a gain of 2.3%. Somehow, however, I don't think those 961 vehicles had much of an impact on the overall results.
Just likeFord (NYSE:F), GM decided to cut its production as a result of the disappointing sales. GM cut its first-quarter production forecast by 45,000 to 1.18 million vehicles and dropped its second-quarter production targets to 1.25 million from nearly 1.39 million. The production cuts are a painful necessity that should provide some benefits down the road.
The move I really like, though, was its shuffling of executives on its engineering and design team. GM hopes the moves will improve sales by getting new and appealing designs created and putting them in showrooms faster. Hopefully, the moves will provide the desired results, but if nothing else, it's an admission that things need to change, and this shows a willingness to do so.
Expect some continued rough roads for now, but GM isn't giving up its top spot without a fight. The company has reported success with its new designs, including the Pontiac G6 and Chevy Equinox, among others. GM plans to introduce 17 products this year, so it should see some improvements. It's good to see that GM may finally be realizing that to stay on top, it needs to be flexible and aggressive. However, I'd rather wait and see how the latest moves look to play out before jumping in.
Fool contributor Mike Cianciolo welcomes feedback and doesn't own any of the companies in this article.