General Motors
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The
General Motors Company (
NYSE:
GM,
TSX:
GMM.U) is an American automaker with its headquarters in
Detroit,
Michigan. General Motors, the world's second largest automaker,
[3] traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 205,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 157 countries. General Motors produces cars and trucks in 31 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following divisions: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Opel, Vauxhall. GM's OnStar subsidiary provides vehicle safety, security and information services.
[edit] Company overview
Chevrolet Volt Production
General Motors is headquartered at the
Renaissance Center in Detroit. It employs approximately 210,000 people around the world. In 2009, General Motors sold 6.5 million cars and trucks globally. General Motor's biggest success has been in the People's Republic of China, where its sales rose 66.9 percent in 2009, selling 1,830,000 vehicles and accounting for 13.4 percent of the market.
[4]
[edit] History
General Motors Founder William Durant
The company was first founded on September 16, 1908, in
Flint, Michigan, as a
holding company for
Buick, then controlled by
William C. Durant. GM's co-founder was
Charles Stewart Mott, whose carriage company was merged into Buick prior to GM's creation. Over the years Mott became the largest single stockholder in GM and spent his life with his
Mott Foundation, whose benefit was shone on the city of Flint, his adopted home. It acquired
Oldsmobile later that year. In 1909, Durant brought in
Cadillac,
Elmore,
Oakland and several others. Also in 1909, GM acquired the Reliance Motor Truck Company of
Owosso, Michigan, and the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of
Pontiac, Michigan, the predecessors of
GMC Truck. Durant lost control of GM in 1910 to a bankers' trust, because of the large amount of debt taken on in its acquisitions coupled with a collapse in new vehicle sales.
The Suburban is the longest-lived continuous automobile nameplate still in production
The next year, Durant started the
Chevrolet Motor Car Company and through this he secretly purchased a controlling interest in GM. Durant took back control of the company after one of the most dramatic
proxy wars in American business history. Durant then reorganized General Motors Company into General Motors Corporation in 1916. Shortly after, he again lost control, this time for good, after the new vehicle market collapsed.
Alfred P. Sloan was picked to take charge of the
corporation and led it to its post-war global dominance. This unprecedented growth of GM would last into the early 1980s when it employed 349,000 workers and operated 150 assembly plants.
GM was leader in global sales for 77 consecutive years (1931 to 2008).
[5]
[edit] Chapter 11 reorganization
On July 10, 2009, a new entity, NGMCO Inc. purchased the ongoing operations and trademarks from General Motors Corporation.
[6] The purchasing company, in turn, changed its name from NGMCO Inc. to General Motors Company, marking the emergence of a new operation from the "pre-packaged"
Chapter 11 reorganization.
[7][8][9]
In November 2010 - 16 months after the bankruptcy - General Motors returned back to the stock exchange. Due to high demand, General Motors increased the number of ordinary
(voting) shares by almost a third to 478 million; calculated from the unit price of 33 US$ for one share the whole value was 15 billion US$. In addition, 87 million
preferred shares at a price of 50 US$ was spent.
[10] With a total volume of around 23.1 billion US$ this was the largest IPO of all time.
On November 18, 2010, the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange listed the Company. The U.S. Treasury share holdings in the Company have been reduced from about 61% to about 26%, which included preferred shares and accounting for stock options given to former G.M. bondholders. The initial sale of such shares yielded the Treasury department about US$13.6 billion proceeds. SAIC Motor, partner of G.M. in China and India, acquired just less than 1 percent of the new G.M. for about $500 million.
[11][12]
[edit] Brand reorganization
As part of General Motors Corporation's reorganization as General Motors Company, the content and the structure of its brand portfolio (its
brand architecture) is also being reorganized.
[13] Some nameplates like Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, and service brands like Goodwrench were discontinued. Others, like Saab, were sold.
[14] The practice of putting the "GM Mark of Excellence" on every car, no matter what the brand, was discontinued in August, 2009.
[15] The company has moved from a corporate-endorsed hybrid brand architecture structure, where GM underpinned every brand to a multiple brand corporate invisible brand architecture structure.
[16] The company's familiar square blue "badge" has been removed from the Web site and advertising, in favor of a new, subtle all-text logo treatment.
[13]
[edit] Global sales
[edit] Sales figures
| Calendar Year | U.S. sales | Chg/yr. |
| 1998[18] | 4,603,991 |
|
| 1999 | 5,017,150 |  9.0% |
| 2000[19] | 4,953,163 |  1.3% |
| 2001 | 4,904,015 | 1.0% |
| 2002 | 4,858,705 | 0.9% |
| 2003 | 4,756,403 | 2.1% |
| 2004[20] | 4,707,416 | 1.0% |
| 2005 | 4,517,730 | 4.0% |
| 2006[21] | 4,124,645 | 8.7% |
| 2007 | 3,866,620 | 6.3% |
| 2008[22] | 2,980,688 | 22.9% |
| 2009[23] | 2,084,492 | 30.1% |
[edit] Corporate governance
General Motors CEO, Daniel Akerson
On July 23, 2009, GM announced its new Board of Directors:
Dan Akerson,
David Bonderman,
Robert D. Krebs,
Patricia F. Russo and
Ed Whitacre (GM Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer). Board members who are not GM employees will be paid US$200,000 annually.
[24]
As of December 1, 2009, The General Motors Board of Directors accepted
Frederick Henderson's resignation. In January 2010, chairman Whitacre was appointed permanent chief executive officer after previously serving in an interim capacity.
[25]
Executive management:
- Edward Whitacre, Jr. - Chairman of the Board of the Directors
- Daniel Akerson - Chief Executive Officer
- Chris Liddell - Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer[26]
- Thomas G. Stephens - Vice Chairman, Global Product Operations[27]
- Mark Reuss - President, GM North America[28]
- David N. Reilly - President, GM Europe and CEO, Adam Opel GmbH[29]
- Timothy E. Lee - President, GM International Operations (Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa, and Middle East)[30]
- Ray Young - vice president, International Operations[31][32]
- Edward T. Welburn - Global Vice President of General Motors Design, current and only the sixth head designer.[33]
For additional senior management see
GM Senior Leadership Group
Whitacre was very active in GM's advertising. He appeared in an advertisement touting the company's 60-day, money-back guarantee soon after the company exited bankruptcy and a television advertisement that boasted the repayment of $6.7 billion loan from government ahead of schedule, which caused a controversy.
[34] On August 12, 2010 GM announced that Whitacre would relinquish the CEO position effective September 1, 2010 and that of Chairman of the Board at the end of the year, to be replaced in those functions by current board member Dan Akerson.
[35]
[edit] World presence
[edit] North America
In North America, GM will focus primarily on its four core brands — Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC — while selling, discontinuing, or scaling back its other brands. The White House characterized the GM restructuring as a shift toward a new leaner, greener GM, which will aim to break even with annual sales much lower than previously stated.
[36] President Obama declared that the restructuring "will mark the end of an old GM, and the beginning of a new GM; a new GM that can produce the high-quality, safe, and fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow; that can lead America towards an energy independent future; and that is once more a symbol of America's success."
[37]
In the middle of 2005, GM announced that its corporate chrome power emblem "
Mark of Excellence" would begin appearing on all recently introduced and all-new 2006 model vehicles produced and sold in North America. However, in 2009 the "New GM" reversed this, saying that emphasis on its four core brands would dictate downplaying the GM name.
[38]
The
Buick brand is especially strong in China, led by the
Buick Excelle subcompact. The last emperor of China owned a Buick.
[39] The
Cadillac brand was introduced in China in 2004, starting with exports to China. GM pushed the marketing of the
Chevrolet brand in China in 2005 as well, moving the former
Buick Sail to that marque. The company manufactures most of its China market vehicles locally through
Shanghai GM, a joint venture with the Chinese company SAIC, which was created on March 25, 1997. The Shanghai GM plant was officially opened on December 15, 1998, when the first Chinese-built Buick came off the assembly line. The
SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile joint-venture is also successfully selling microvans under the
Wuling marque (34 percent owned by GM).
In August 2009 the joint venture of FAW GM Light Duty Commercial Vehicle Co Ltd was formed that mainly produces Jiefang light-duty trucks.
[40]
GM increased its sales in China by 68 percent to 230,048 vehicles in March 2010, outsold its U.S. sales of 188,546 by 22 percent. And the company said it is “on track” to sell more than 2 million vehicles in China in 2010, four years ahead of its plan.
[41][42]Blumenstein, Rebecca (October 30, 2007). "GM to Invest in Green Technology in China". WSJ. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119365251905674678.html. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
GM made Cadillac a chief sponsor of the state-run
China Film Group Corporation's
Birth of a Party, a film dramatizing the events leading to the creation of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921 after Russia’s October Revolution in 1917.
[43]
[edit] Africa
General Motors has a long history in
Egypt which began in the 1920s with the assembling of cars and light pickup trucks for the local market. In the mid of the 1950s, GM withdrew from the Egyptian market. Some year later, the
Ghabbour Brothers began to assemble
Cadillac,
Chevrolet and
Buick models up to the 1990s.
Since 1983 GM and
Al-Monsour Automotive Company has founded the
General Motors Egypt which is currently the only manufacturer of traditional GM branded vehicles in Egypt. The
Speranza Motors is a big company which started in the 1990s with the SKD assembling of
Daewoo cars. Today the main products of Speranza are from the Chinese
Chery concern.
[edit] Racing heritage
GM has participated over the years in the
World Touring Car Championship (WTCC),
Le Mans,
Nascar,
SCCA, and many other world venues.
Chevrolet Cruze in the WTCC
Corvette Racing Team at the Le Mans
GM's engines were highy successful in the
Indy Racing League (IRL) throughout the 1990s, winning many races in the small
V-8 class. GM has also done much work in the
development of electronics for GM auto racing. An unmodified Aurora V-8 in the Aerotech, captured 47 world records, including the record for speed endurance in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Recently, the
Cadillac V-Series has entered motorsports racing. GM has also used many cars in the American racing series
NASCAR. Currently the
Chevrolet Impala is the only entry in the series but in the past the
Pontiac Grand Prix,
Buick Regal,
Oldsmobile Cutlass,
Chevrolet Lumina,
Chevrolet Malibu, and the
Chevrolet Monte Carlo were also used.
In Australia, there is the
V8 Supercar Championship which is battled out by the two main rivals of (GM)
Holden and
Ford. The current
Holden Racing Team cars are based on the
Holden Commodore and run a 5.0-litre V8-cylinder engine producing 635 bhp (474 kW). These cars have a top speed of 294 km/h (183 mph) and run 0–100 km/h in 3.8 seconds. The
Holden Racing Team is Australia's most successful team in Australian Touring Car History. In 2006 & 2007, the Drivers championship was won by the very closely linked
HSV Dealer Team.
[edit] Philanthropy
Since 1996, General Motors has been the exclusive source of funding for
Safe Kids USA's "Safe Kids Buckle Up" program, a national initiative to ensure child automobile safety through education and inspection.
[44] Through 2002, the Pace Awards program led by GM, EDS, and SUN Microsystems, gave over $1.2 billion of in-kind contributions which includes computers to over 18 universities to support engineering education.
[45] In 2009, the GM led group has helped the Pace Awards program worldwide.
[46] General Motors is a leading contributor to charity. In 2004, GM gave $51,200,000 in cash contributions and $17,200,000 in-kind donations to charitable causes.
[47]
[edit] Research and development
GM R&D was the world’s first automotive research center. It was organized in 1920 by inventor Charles F. Kettering.
Headquartered in Warren, Michigan, the GM Research Lab is a network of six laboratories, six science offices and collaborative relationships in over twelve countries including working relationships with universities, government groups, suppliers and other partners from across the globe.
[edit] Small car sales
As part of General Motors Company development, it plans to revive one of its idled U.S. factories for the production of a small car in Orion, Mi with the creation of 1,200 American jobs. This will be first time ever a large manufacture producing a
Supermini vehicle in the United States. The new small car will add to a group of small and fuel-efficient vehicles that the company is planning to roll out in the near future. This retooled plant will be capable of building 160,000 cars annually, including both small and compact vehicles.
[48]
[edit] Environmental commitment
General Motors has a commitment to environmental responsibility and is one of the leading users in renewable energy. In 2008 General Motors committed to engineering half of its manufacturing plants to be landfill-free. In order to achieve its landfill-free status, production waste is recycled or reused in the manufacturing process.
The Zaragoza Manufacturing Plants's Solar Panels
General Motors added the world's largest rooftop solar power installation at their Zaragoza Manufacturing Plant in fall of 2008. The Zaragoza solar installation covers about 2,000,000 sq. ft. of roof at the plant and comprises about 85,000 solar panels.
[edit] Environmental principles
General Motors have a published policy that includes committments to
1. actions to restore and preserve the environment
2. reduce waste and pollutants, conserve resources, and recycle materials at every stage of the product life cycle
3. participate actively in educating the public regarding environmental conservation.
4. pursue vigorously the development and implementation of technologies for minimizing pollutant emissions.
5. continue to work with all governmental entities for the development of technically sound and financially responsible environmental laws and regulations.
6. continually assess the impact of the production plants and products on the environment and the communities in which they exist and operate with a goal of continuous improvement.
[edit] Environmental initiatives
The company has long worked on
alternative-technology vehicles, and has recently led the industry with ethanol burning
flexible-fuel vehicles that can run on either
E85 (ethanol) or
gasoline. The company was the first to use
turbochargers and was an early proponent of
V6 engines in the 1960s, but quickly lost interest as the
muscle car race took hold. They demonstrated
[49] gas turbine vehicles powered by
kerosene, an area of interest throughout the industry, but abandoned the alternative engine configuration in view of the
1973 oil crisis. In the 1970s and 1980s, GM pushed the benefits of
diesel engines and
cylinder deactivation technologies with disastrous results due to poor durability in the
Oldsmobile diesels and drivability issues in the
Cadillac V8-6-4 variable cylinder engines. In 1987, GM, in conjunction with
AeroVironment, built the
Sunraycer, which won the inaugural
World Solar Challenge and was a showcase of advanced technology. Much of the technology from Sunraycer found its way into the Impact prototype electric vehicle (also built by Aerovironment) and was the predecessor to the
General Motors EV1.
GM supported a compromise version of the
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard increase from 27 mpg
-US (8.7 L/100 km; 32 mpg
-imp) to 35 mpg
-US (6.7 L/100 km; 42 mpg
-imp), the first such increase in over 20 years.
[50]
[edit] Hybrid electric vehicles
In May 2004, GM delivered the world's first full sized hybrid pickups, the 1/2-ton Silverado/Sierra. These hybrids did not use electrical energy for propulsion, like GM's later designs. In 2005, the
Opel Astra diesel Hybrid concept vehicle was introduced. The 2006
Saturn Vue Green Line was the first hybrid passenger vehicle from GM and is also a
mild design. GM has hinted at new hybrid technologies to be employed that will be optimized for higher speeds in
freeway driving.
GM currently offers the two-mode is used by the Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon and will later be used on the Saturn Vue (cancelled), Cadillac Escalade, GM 1/2-ton pickups and possibly other vehicles.
[51]
GM has recently introduced the concept cars
Chevrolet Volt, which is an electric vehicle with back-up generators, powered by gasoline, E85, or fuel cells. According to GM, a production Chevrolet Volt will be available by late 2010 as a 2011 model.
[52]
The GM Magic Bus is a hybrid powered bus.
[53]
[edit] All-electric vehicles
General Motors was the first American company (in the modern era) to release an all-electric automobile. In 1990, GM debuted the revolutionary "Impact" concept car at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It was the first car with zero-emissions marketed in the US in over three decades. The Impact was eventually produced as the
EV1 for the 1996 model year. It was available through dealers located in only a few regions (e.g., California, Arizona, Georgia). Vehicles were leased, rather than sold, to individuals. In 1999 GM decided to cease production of the vehicles. When the individual leases had expired, they declined to renew the leases or allow the lessors to purchase them. All of the EV1's were eventually returned to General Motors and, with the exception of a few which were donated to museums, all were destroyed.
General Motors has announced that it is building a prototype two-seat electric vehicle with
Segway. An early prototype of the Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility vehicle—dubbed
Project P.U.M.A. – will be shown off in New York a day ahead of the press previews for the 2009
New York International Auto Show.
[54]
[edit] Battery packs for electric vehicles
GM builds battery packs in southern Michigan.
[52] GM also established an
automotive battery laboratory in
Michigan.
[55] GM will be responsible for battery management systems and power electronics, thermal management, as well as the pack assembly. Finally an existing GM facility at Brownstown Township was chosen to be upgraded as battery pack plant.
[52] LG Chem's U.S. subsidiary, Compact Power of Troy, Michigan, has been building the prototype packs for the development vehicles and will continue to provide integration support and act as a liaison for the program.
[edit] Hydrogen initiative
Sequel, a fuel cell-powered vehicle from GM.
GM has prided its research and prototype development of
hydrogen powered vehicles,
[52] to be produced in early 2010, using a support infrastructure still in a prototype state. The economic feasibility of the technically challenging hydrogen car, and the low-cost production of hydrogen to fuel it, has also been discussed by other automobile manufacturers such as
Ford and
Chrysler.
In June 2007, Larry Burns, vice president of research and development, said he's not yet willing to say exactly when hydrogen vehicles will be mass produced, but he said it should happen before 2020, the year many experts have predicted. He said "I sure would be disappointed if we weren't there" before 2020.
[56]
[edit] Flexible-fuel vehicles
GM produces several
flexible-fuel vehicles that can operate on
E85 ethanol fuel or gasoline, or any blend of both. Since 2006 GM started featuring a bright yellow gas cap to remind drivers of the E85 capabilities,
[57][58][59][60] and also using badging with the text "Flexfuel/E85 Ethanol" to clearly mark the car as an E85 FFV.
[61][62]
GM is the leader in E85 flex fuel vehicles, with over 3 million FlexFuel vehicles on the road in the U.S. As of 2009, GM offers 18 ethanol-enabled FlexFuel cars and trucks in the US, and produce more than one million new FlexFuel vehicles. GM's goal is to have half of their annual vehicle production be E85 or
biodiesel capable by 2012.
[63]
[edit] See also
[edit] People
[edit] Industry associations
[edit] Competitions
[edit] Category
