General Motors is the parent company of several automakers, including GMC, Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac. Although GM’s brands are popular in America, Chevy is in a league of its own. Here’s a look at how Chevy accounts for a large portion of GM’s sales and why that could be an issue.

Here’s how General Motors’ 4 car brands are performing right now

General Motors’ first-quarter 2023 sales numbers show the popular American automaker is growing. Across all four of GM’s brands, the company sold over 600,000 units in Q1 2023, a 17.6% increase over Q1 2022. In addition, the company’s market share increased by 1.5%, meaning GM is beating many rivals.

That said, nearly 400,000 of those units came from Chevrolet. Like every other brand under GM’s umbrella, Chevy’s sales grew compared to last year, though the Bowtie’s growth was more modest than that of Buick or Cadillac. Chevy grew by about 15.7% year-over-year, while Cadillac and Buick grew by 28.7% and 99.2%. 

That means, right now, Chevrolet is responsible for over 66% of General Motors’ total sales. To put it another way: Two of every three cars GM sells is a Chevy. On top of that, Chevrolet’s sales are also top-heavy, with the Silverado truck dominating the company’s sales numbers. In Q1 2023, Chevy sold almost 127,000 Silverado pickups. Those numbers alone equal about 32% of Chevrolet’s and 21% of GM’s sales. 

There are some pros and cons to GM’s reliance on Chevy’s success

GM continues to sell far more cars than most rivals, so most automakers would love to have those sales numbers. They also illustrate the Silverado’s importance in GM’s continued growth and success. After all, the Silverado routinely battles the Ford F-Series for the distinction of the best-selling vehicle in America. 

However, GM’s reliance on Chevy and, by extension, the Silverado could be problematic. The Silverado is popular now, but consumer tastes change, as does the economy. Many shoppers considering buying a full-size pickup truck might reconsider when they see gas prices or the truck’s MSRP. So if America stopped buying full-size trucks like the Silverado, GM could hurt more than companies like Hyundai and BMW.

It could be a worse situation for Chevy and GM

Financially speaking, it’s wise for companies to diversify their portfolios. The good news for Chevy fans is that Ford is in a more precarious position than GM and Chevrolet.

Ford also published Q1 2023 sales data, showing the company sold almost 457,000 units. That makes Ford more popular than Chevrolet. But like Chevy, Ford relies heavily on its pickup trucks for its success. The Blue Oval sold over 170,000 F-Series in Q1 2023, about 37% of the brand’s sales.

Ford also owns Lincoln, but that brand added only about 19,000 units in sales to the company’s quarterly total. Thus, even with Lincoln in the mix, the F-Series is responsible for nearly 36% of Ford’s overall sales.