GM power has shifted to China

GM power has shifted to China

www.freep.com

Largely overlooked in last month's sweeping management reorganization of the new post-bankruptcy General Motors Co. was a recentering of power to Shanghai.

Nick Reilly went from overseeing GM's Asia operations based in Shanghai to overseeing all of the automaker's operations outside of North America, except for Opel -- ending decades of bureaucratic silos that had carved up the globe into regional divisions.

So while GM's Canada and Mexico operations report through the United States, most of the rest of the world reports through China.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
wheels.blogs.nytimes.com
www.thetruthaboutcars.com
www.winnipegfreepress.com

[edit on 30-8-2009 by DontTreadOnMe]

I am stunned, almost.

General Motors has been around Detroit all my life.
And while this doesn't mean GM is leaving the area, it does mean that the automaker is moving its operations so that they are centered where they are making money: Asia.

I wonder if part of the problem is a lack of talent in the U.S.? Or, is the writing on the wall and the era of the car industry in America over?


www.freep.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

perhaps it is time for americans to move beyond cars, to cleaner alternatives that require little fuel if any at all.

People have so incredible short time memories, because right after the bail out of GM they were already investing in China operations while crying been bankrupted in the US, they were doing business with some banks in China and that information went almost unoticed.

Sorry to tell you this people, but they probably took some for the bail out money to cement their operations and guess what nothing is going to be done at all.

What a joke.

It would make sense if China was leading in production and sales at this point.


Sounds more like GM is focusing more on these areas to produce the highest profits with the cheapest labor costs. ( duh?)

Just how much of GMs parts were already made in China? Is China now in control of GM as collateral? What percent of ownership did China have already of that maket there?

China has been said to already have their own version of the Volt and GM may just be betting on this drive train for their own cars made in the USA?

China wants in to the US market and their drive trains seem like a stong beginning. I've been wondering if China was going to take over Saturn as well.

What other deals had the US government made with China over it's debts?

Cars assembled in the US with minimal production costs IN the US/Canada seems more likely than ever.( to me anyway) But what will the Unions say and do? Maybe they'll be producing expensive replacement parts and higher priced luxury cars?

I would imagine the percent of cars made in China will now be higher to offset our debt with them?

[edit on 30-8-2009 by aleon1018]

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


Maybe they just want to add more pollution to china's environment by moving their factory out there..... seriously more cars on the streets is not what we need!



[edit on 30-8-2009 by TruthxIsxInxThexMist]

Originally posted by aleon1018
It would make sense if China was leading in production and sales at this point.

I'm not sure what you mean by this.
Unless of course all the stats we get aren't not true.
All along I have heard that GM was selling cars in Asia, that the US market for domestic cars was dried up. And considering the cost of a car in the US, that is understandable.
But, GM is selling lots of cars in China, at lest according to the article above:

Some of GM's success in China this year, Wale said, is credited to the Chinese government's stimulus aimed at attracting lower-income, rural shoppers to new cars.

"The government has been very active in promoting low-end consumption of vehicles," he said.

This has helped GM's Wuling venture, which saw sales jump 90.7% to 87,925 in July compared with last year. That growth is driven largely by the Wuling Sunshine minivan.

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


I'm just assuming GM is abandoning Detroit to kowtow to China? ( for now)Either by desperation and or just good business sense. I haven't been to Detroit, but from the sounds of it, I wouldn't want to go there. Maybe Detroit is just on the back burner for now.

Most people in the US and Canada who want a car, already have a car.

This is not true in the developing countries, where many people want cars who don't have them yet. So I guess there's some logic in focusing on the biggest sales growth opportunities.

Can anyone guess why Toyota and some of the other car makers with manufacturing in America are not as bad off as GM? I think there are reasons that some people don't want to admit.

Whats the big deal? GM is trying to make money, asians are going ot be buying cars so lets get GM involved over there heavily and ramp up its capacity, so that some other company doenst do it instead.

GM is safe and secure as it will be here in the states, it needs to get in with both feet in the emerging markets. This is a great business move.

Originally posted by phi1618
perhaps it is time for americans to move beyond cars, to cleaner alternatives that require little fuel if any at all.

No way! NEVER! I like cars. Perhaps for daily transportation but not for fun.

Will we even need to commute in most cases in the future?

In any case, I think they're attempting to offset some things by turning Detroit into a "green" capital. Actually, I know some things about the stuff that the Grandholm wants to get off the ground. You can probably search a good bit of that out on the net, maybe.

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe


I am stunned, almost.

General Motors has been around Detroit all my life.
And while this doesn't mean GM is leaving the area, it does mean that the automaker is moving its operations so that they are centered where they are making money: Asia.

I wonder if part of the problem is a lack of talent in the U.S.? Or, is the writing on the wall and the era of the car industry in America over?

Dont be stunned it has been heading that way for a while. I posted a thread concerning this very subject.

GM's China Car Sales Rise 78%. GM to Cut US jobs by 13,500

GM's China Car Sales Rise 78%

BEIJING -- General Motors Corp. said Monday its sales in China surged 77.7% in July from a year earlier to 144,593 vehicles, a record for the month in the company's second-largest market.

"This was GM China's best July ever, extending an uninterrupted series of single-month sales records that started in January 2009," GM said in a statement.

China, which overtook the U.S. in January as the world's largest auto market by sales volume, is playing a key role in GM's recovery after it emerged from bankruptcy protection last month.

The company's sales in China during the January-July period rose 42.8% from a year earlier to 959,035 units. GM didn't provide year-earlier figures. It sold 143,294 vehicles in China in June.

GM buyout offers falls short of goal, layoffs loom

DETROIT — About 6,000 General Motors Co. blue-collar workers have taken the latest round of early retirement and buyout offers, but it fell short of the company's goal, meaning more layoffs are likely.

GM has about 54,000 factory workers and wants to end the year with 40,500, a cut of about 13,500. Monday's report means that about 7,500 too few workers took the offers, setting the stage for more layoffs.

The automaker announced in June and July that it would close 15 U.S. factories employing about 22,000 workers by end of 2012.

Originally posted by EnlightenUp

Originally posted by phi1618
perhaps it is time for americans to move beyond cars, to cleaner alternatives that require little fuel if any at all.

No way! NEVER! I like cars. Perhaps for daily transportation but not for fun.

Will we even need to commute in most cases in the future?

Well I've written a thread regarding that also. Check it out.

GM's Chevrolet Volt to Get 230 MPG

DETROIT--General Motors Co. said its new Chevrolet Volt electric car is expected to get 230 miles per gallon in city driving as the auto maker outlined a raft of product introductions.

The Volt is at the forefront of GM's efforts to reinvigorate a line-up that has lost market share in the U.S., with 25 new vehicles due to be launched by 2011. At that rating, the Volt would dwarf any offering from a mass-market brand, including Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius. It also could deliver a major boost to GM efforts to cultivate a green image, a key element of the company's restructuring efforts.

The Volt is scheduled for domestic launch in 2010, and the mileage and range guidance reflects new guidelines for electric cars set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

[edit on 30-8-2009 by SLAYER69]

Well GM can go to hell for what I care and China will be the best place for them, but I want those crocks to give back the money from the bailout that they took from tax payers money.

China supposedly has a similar system that would be available sooner and much cheaper than GMs. Even if these cars are only $13,000 $18,000, many will not have the credit or jobs to buy them and will have to wait for the used ones down the road, quite a few years. It's a satrt anyway. I've been thinking more about conversions and upgraded drive systems. A slave engine and electric motor might be put in several different vehicles.

If China is allowed to sell drivetrain conversions, there may be several that will want it.

There's been videos of converted Hummers here somewhere. Not sure what they were converted to.

reply to post by SLAYER69


I had read that thread or one about the Volt + 230 MPG but it isn't automotive in nature at all. The Gov. is also referring to manufacturing related to things like wind and solar energy.

There's also film production. I suppose there is lots of abandoned stuff to blow up in the city for good effect. LOL.

[edit on 8/30/2009 by EnlightenUp]

reply to post by aleon1018


Just to be clear, GM is changing the way it runs itself.
Instead of GM World Headquarters in Detroit, it will know have GM Headquarters for North America in Detroit, and GM in China will be for therest of the world...at least that is how I am reading it.

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


I'm just ( forive the word)...speculating . It will be interesting to see just how far all this goes and how much China is actually in control. I'll leave you to your thread.

Hmmm...first stage to get us off Oil? Make a profit off the old car companies by selling em to China then US starts new companies making electric or other means of transport. Not a bad idea if true.

Basically we dump a soon to be outdated manufacturing base on China then introduce the new technology we have been hiding lol.

China keeps buying our paper for real goods so why not this

Originally posted by Xeven
Hmmm...first stage to get us off Oil? Make a profit off the old car companies by selling em to China then US starts new companies making electric or other means of transport. Not a bad idea if true.

Basically we dump a soon to be outdated manufacturing base on China then introduce the new technology we have been hiding lol.

China keeps buying our paper for real goods so why not this

I don't understand what the big leap to a change in drive trains has so much to do with the rest of the car. Sure, it's about the oil and a long while to ween the USA and the rest of the world away from it. It doubt this will happen in a just a few years.