General Motors Corp sales in December 2001 rose 7%, boosted by interest-free loans and strong truck demand. Truck sales were up 30.8% to 228,080 vehicles, while car sales fell 19.1% to 130,668 vehicles. The company limited its interest-free loan offers in December, but added extra rebates at the end of the month to boost sales. GM said it was replacing its 0% financing offers with a $2,002 rebate on most of its models.
GM also said retail sales increased more than overall sales as orders from rental-car companies and business fleets continued to be weak in the wake of the Sept 11, 2001, attacks.
For 2001 as a whole, GM said its sales fell 1%, with 4,904,015 vehicles sold.