Mixed Response: GM offers deals on new Silverado, Sierra due to slumping sales, yet popularity of V-8 has it in short supply

Updated Oct 10, 2013
2014 GMC Sierra2014 GMC Sierra

So far, you could call the launch of General Motors’ redesigned pickups a bit of a mixed bag. While the new body styles of the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra (and their 2015 HD counterparts) have stirred up some excitement, in September sales fell 8 percent.

As Automotive News reports, the reason for that dip in sales is most likely the heavy incentives Ford and Ram began offering in response to GM’s new models. We told you about those incentives a couple of weeks ago saying that the combination of GM’s and Ram’s new models with Ford’s incentives made right now a great time to buy a new truck.

Well, if that was true then it’s even more true now. Because in response to the sales dip it saw in September, GM is fighting back with some incentives of its own on the 2014 Silverado. In October, GM is offering $1,000 in customer cash on the new Silverado, reports Automotive News, as well as $500 on higher-priced packages like the All Star and Texas editions.

2014 Chevrolet Silverado2014 Chevrolet Silverado

GM is also making the deal sweeter on the dealer’s end, offering a $200 bonus for each 2014 Silverado sold.

GM feels the dip in sales is temporary, saying that with so many early adopters buying the new models they became a tough sell to everyone else coming into the dealership who saw Ford and Ram’s big discounts. Meanwhile, the trucks GM was offering incentives on, the 2013 models, remain in short supply.

There is a silver lining to GM’s rocky fortune with its latest pickups—if you can call it that. According to a report from Bloomberg, customer demand for the V-8 models of GM’s new pickups is so high that it “has exceeded a supplier’s ability to make drivetrain parts for the 5.3-liter V-8 engine.” In response, GM has had to limit how many V-8 Silverados and Sierras dealers can order.

A GM spokesman told Bloomberg the constraint is “a temporary thing” and that dealers ordering 10 of the trucks are currently only getting eight.