Pontiac G8 records best sales yet in March

THE Holden-made Pontiac G8 has set another sales record in the US, with 2939 sold last month.

It is the best monthly sales result yet for the Commodore-based sedan.

The vehicle had struggled despite a series of rave reviews, and average monthly sales for the last six months of 2008 stood at just 1455.

Pontiac sold 1331 G8s in January and then 2707 in February.

Holden says the G8's 2009 performance is “encouraging ... particularly in today's challenging market conditions.”

Back in Australia, American brand Hummer, which is marketed by GM Holden, is celebrating a strong monthly result.

Hummer has achieved its best sales in a year, shifting 122 H3 models last month.

Left: Hummer H3.

It talked up the result and said it showed the strength of the brand in Australia.

Closer inspection of the VFACTS sales figures reveals that while March 2009 was a good month, Hummer sales are down 48 per cent year to date.

The company has sold just 234 vehicles to the end of March compared with 450 during the same period in 2008.

The other GM brand that is part of the GM Premium Brands division in Australia, Saab, had another dismal result in March selling just 74 cars – 37.7 per cent down on last year.

At the end of the first quarter, Saab has sold just 148 cars in Australia compared with 344 for the same period last year, representing a 57 per cent drop.

In other GM Holden news, the first Holden vehicles wearing EcoLine badges have arrived in Australian dealerships.

EcoLine is the green umbrella that includes all Holden models with some form of environmentally friendly technology, including diesels, dual-fuel LPG and displacement on demand in V8 Caprice and Statesman.