DETROIT -
In what appears to correspond with a changing tide for small businesses, Chevrolet reported it enjoyed a third straight month of growth in sales to this particular segment during December and closed 2010 with fourth-quarter small-business sales climbing 36 percent.
In fact, the increase in fourth-quarter sales to this segment was close to three times stronger than the upswing in the percentage of overall sales throughout the industry. Moreover, Chevrolet’s small-business sales growth was more robust than the brand’s total sales uptick in the fourth quarter.
For example, Chevy’s small business sales climbed 15 percent in October, compared to the 7-percent gain for overall Chevrolet sales during the month. In November, sales to small businesses were up 39 percent, while the brand’s overall sales jumped 18 percent.
Moreover, December saw the brand notch a 54-spike in small business sales, while achieving overall sales growth of 9 percent.
“Small businesses put off capital expenditures such as vehicle purchases in order to weather the economic storm,” explained General Motors vice president of U.S. sales operations Don Johnson.
“With the continuing improvement in consumer spending, and improving profitability of these businesses, we’re beginning to see a significant influx of small business buyers to Chevrolet showrooms,” Johnson stressed.
Such growth reflects what the National Federation of Independent Business is apparently reporting about small-business optimism. The federation’s survey indicated that the strongest optimism level for all of 2010 was achieved during the year’s final quarter.
What’s more, small business owners also appear to be set to make hires “in the near term,” officials indicated, which bodes well for future sales, as well.
One example of this renewed optimism came from Mark Fischer. He is the vice president of Houston-based Katch Kan USA. His company helps support the state’s oil-drilling industry. Activity in his industry dropped an estimated 50 percent in 2008 and 2009, but things were much different last year, pushing Katch Kan to become three times larger in 2010.
“We have experienced a lot of growth over the past couple of years,” Fischer shared. “In 2008, we had six employees and two trucks in the field. Last week, we just added an eighth truck to the fleet, a new Silverado 1500, to support 25 employees working in the field 24/7.”
Officials project that small business sales are likely to remain on the incline, thanks not only to growing owner confidence, but also an older U.S. vehicle population, as well.
Chevrolet pointed to data from R.L. Polk and Co. that indicates the average age of a vehicle in the U.S. at the end of October 2009 was 10.2 years.
Officials said that the average U.S. vehicle age had never before eclipsed the 10-year mark.
In another small business example — Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Sunwest Air Conditioning — recently elected to change out some of its aging fleet models. It bought two new Chevrolet Silverado HD units with service bodies during the fourth quarter.
The first was a new Silverado purchased in November, replacing a truck that had racked up 250,000 miles, which owner Mark Dalessi said goodbye to. Then in December, the second Silverado took the place of a truck that had been driven 200,000 miles.
“We have nine trucks in our fleet, some with a lot of miles,” Dalessi pointed out. “In the beginning of 2009, we were just happy to have any work. But business started picking up towards the end of 2009, and 2010 turned out to be a decent year. As 2011 is shaping up to be a good year for us, we decided it was time to replace our oldest trucks."
In a nod to the brand, Dalessi added: “We buy our fleet vehicles expecting to drive them until they die, and we have never had any issues with our Chevy trucks.”