General Motors Slips After Fourth-Quarter Deliveries Decline

General Motors Co.  (GM) - Get Report  was slipping Thursday after deliveries in the fourth quarter and year declined.

The stock was falling 3.03% to $32.62 a share in early trading. 

The automaker's new vehicle deliveries for the fourth quarter in the U.S. declined 2.7% year over year. Total deliveries for the quarter were 785,229. Deliveries for the full year were 2.9 million, down 1.6% from full-year 2017. Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick brands all experienced declines for both periods. 

Crossover deliveries for the full year increased 7% from a year earlier to about 1 million. In that category, GMC Terrain deliveries grew 34% year over year, while Chevrolet Traverse deliveries rose 19%. Chevrolet Equinox deliveries rose 15%. 

"We have built the most successful pickup, SUV and crossover business in the industry and we gained considerable momentum in the fourth quarter of 2018 as dealers began delivering the all-new Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and Cadillac XT4," said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice president of sales operations.

While Wall Street expects a fall in deliveries for 2019, General Motors remains upbeat. "We feel confident heading into 2019 because we have more major truck and crossover launches coming during the year and the U.S. economy is strong," said McNeil. 

The weak delivery numbers came during a year of price increases that resulted from higher tariffs on materials used to make the cars. 

Perhaps overshadowed by the deliveries figures was a change in management at GM. Mark Reuss will succeed Dan Ammann as the automaker's president. 

General Motors has declined 21% over the last 52 weeks.