The General Motors Company
[ (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in ]Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and was the largest in the world for 77 years before losing the top spot to Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
in 2008.
General Motors operates manufacturing plants
A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
in eight countries. Its four core automobile brands are Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
, Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
, GMC, and Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
. It also holds interests in Chinese brands Wuling Motors
Liuzhou Wuling Automobile Industry Co., Ltd. (doing business as Wuling Motors; ) is a Chinese manufacturer of automobiles, officially established as a joint venture by Liuzhou Wuling Motors Co., Ltd. (shortened "Wuling Group") and Wuling Automobi ...
and Baojun
Baojun () is a Chinese automobile marque owned by a joint venture of General Motors and SAIC Motor, SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile.
History
The Baojun marque was established in 2010 as a cheaper alternative to existing GM brands Chevrolet and Buick ...
as well as DMAX via joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
s. Additionally, GM also owns the BrightDrop
BrightDrop is a subsidiary business created by the American manufacturer General Motors in 2021. The business offers a system of connected products targeting first- and last-mile delivery customers, including light commercial electric vehicles, ...
delivery vehicle manufacturer, a namesake Defense vehicles division which produces military vehicles for the United States government and military; the vehicle safety, security, and information services provider OnStar
OnStar Corporation is a subsidiary of General Motors that provides subscription-based communications, in-vehicle security, emergency services, turn-by-turn navigation, and remote diagnostics systems throughout the United States, Canada, China, Mex ...
; the auto parts company ACDelco
ACDelco is an American automotive parts brand owned by General Motors (GM). Factory parts for vehicles manufactured by GM are consolidated under the ACDelco brand, which also offers aftermarket parts for non-GM vehicles. Over its long history it ...
, a namesake financial lending service; and majority ownership in the self-driving car
A self-driving car, also known as an autonomous car, driver-less car, or robotic car (robo-car), is a car that is capable of traveling without human input.Xie, S.; Hu, J.; Bhowmick, P.; Ding, Z.; Arvin, F.,Distributed Motion Planning for S ...
s enterprise Cruise LLC.
In January 2021, GM announced plans to end production and sales of vehicles using internal combustion engine
An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...
s, including hybrid vehicle
A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids.
The basic princip ...
s and plug-in hybrid
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
s by 2035, as part of its plan to achieve carbon neutrality
Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...
by 2040. GM offers more flexible-fuel vehicle
A flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) or dual-fuel vehicle (colloquially called a flex-fuel vehicle) is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol o ...
s, which can operate on either E85
E85 is an abbreviation typically referring to an ethanol fuel blend of 85% ethanol fuel and 15% gasoline or other hydrocarbon by volume.
In the United States, the exact ratio of fuel ethanol to hydrocarbon may vary according to ASTM 5798 that ...
ethanol fuel
Ethanol fuel is ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, used as fuel. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. The first production car running entirely on ethanol was the ...
or gasoline, or any blend of both, than any other automaker.
The company traces itself to a holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
for Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
established on September 16, 1908, by William C. Durant
William Crapo Durant (December 8, 1861 – March 18, 1947) was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry and co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple marques – each s ...
, the largest seller of horse-drawn vehicle
A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have m ...
s at the time. The current entity was established in 2009 after the General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization
The 2009 General Motors Chapter 11 sale of the assets of automobile manufacturer General Motors and some of its subsidiaries was implemented through Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code in the United States bankruptcy court for the Southern ...
.
GM is ranked 22nd on the Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
History
By 1900, William C. Durant
William Crapo Durant (December 8, 1861 – March 18, 1947) was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry and co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple marques – each s ...
's Durant-Dort Carriage Company Durant-Dort Carriage Company was a manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in Flint, Michigan. Founded in 1886, by 1900 it was the largest carriage manufacturer in the country.
This very successful business made the partners rich men and it became the ...
of Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...
had become the largest manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicle
A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have m ...
s in the United States. Durant was averse to automobiles, but fellow Flint businessman James H. Whiting, owner of Flint Wagon Works
Flint Wagon Works of Flint, Michigan, manufactured wagons from the early 1880s. One of the world's most successful horse-drawn vehicle makers they formed with their Flint neighbours a core of the American automobile industry. In 1905 Flint was pro ...
, sold him the Buick Motor Company
Buick () is a division (business), division of the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American Brand, marques of automobiles, and w ...
in 1904.[ Durant formed the General Motors Company in 1908 as a ]holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
, with partner Charles Stewart Mott
Charles Stewart Mott (June 2, 1875 – February 18, 1973) was an American industrialist and businessman, a co-founder of General Motors, philanthropist, and the 50th and 55th mayor of Flint, Michigan.
Mott is the figure most responsible for foun ...
, borrowing a naming convention from General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
. GM's first acquisition was Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
, which Durant already owned, then Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...
on November 12, 1908. Under Durant, GM went on to acquire Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
, Elmore, Welch, Cartercar
The Cartercar was an American automobile manufactured in 1905 in Jackson, Michigan, in 1906 in Detroit, and from 1907 to 1915 in Pontiac, Michigan.
History
After leaving the Jackson Automobile Company due to a disagreement with his busines ...
, Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
(the predecessor of Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
), the Reliance Motor Truck Company of Owosso, Michigan
Owosso is the largest city in Shiawassee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 15,194 at the 2010 census. The city is mostly surrounded by Owosso Township on its west, but the two are administered autonomously. The city wa ...
, and the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit.
Founde ...
(predecessors of GMC) in 1909.
Durant, with the board's approval, also tried acquiring Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
but needed an additional $2 million. Durant over-leveraged
In finance, leverage (or gearing in the United Kingdom and Australia) is any technique involving borrowing funds to buy things, hoping that future profits will be many times more than the cost of borrowing. This technique is named after a lever ...
GM in making these acquisitions, and was removed by the board of directors in 1910 at the order of the bankers who backed the loans to keep GM in business. The action of the bankers was partially influenced by the Panic of 1910–1911 that followed the earlier enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author.
T ...
. In 1911, Charles F. Kettering
Charles Franklin Kettering (August 29, 1876 – November 25, 1958) sometimes known as Charles Fredrick Kettering was an American inventor, engineer, businessman, and the holder of 186 patents.
For the list of patents issued to Kettering, see, Le ...
, with Henry M. Leland
Henry Martyn Leland (February 16, 1843 – March 26, 1932) was an American machinist, inventor, engineer and automotive entrepreneur. He founded the two premier American luxury automotive marques, Cadillac and Lincoln.
Early years
Henry M. Lela ...
, of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater ...
(DELCO), invented and patented the first electric starter in America. In November 1911, Durant co-founded Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
with Swiss race car driver Louis Chevrolet
Louis-Joseph Chevrolet (; December 25, 1878 – June 6, 1941) was a Swiss-American race car driver, mechanic and entrepreneur who co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911.
Early life
Louis-Joseph Chevrolet was born on December 25, 1 ...
, who left the company in 1915 after a disagreement with Durant.
GM was reincorporated in Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
in 1916 as General Motors Corporation and became a public company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
via an initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
. By 1917, Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
had become successful enough that Durant, with the backing of Samuel McLaughlin
Colonel Robert Samuel McLaughlin, (September 8, 1871 – January 6, 1972) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He started the McLaughlin Motor Car Company in 1907, one of the first major automobile manufacturers in Canada, which evo ...
and Pierre S. du Pont
Pierre Samuel du Pont (; January 15, 1870 – April 4, 1954) was an American entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and member of the prominent du Pont family.
He was president of DuPont from 1915 to 1919, and served on its board of director ...
, reacquired a controlling interest in GM. The same year, GM acquired Samson Tractor
Samson Tractor was an American brand of tractors 1900 to 1923, of trucks from 1920 to 1923, and a General Motors brand from 1917 to 1923.
History
The Samson Iron Works were founded in Stockton, California and, after becoming known for building ...
. Chevrolet Motor Company was consolidated into GM on May 2, 1918, and the same year GM acquired United Motors
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
, a parts supplier founded by Durant and headed by Alfred P. Sloan for $45 million, and the McLaughlin Motor Car Company
McLaughlin Motor Car Company Limited was a Canadian manufacturer of automobiles headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario. Founded by Robert McLaughlin, it once was the largest carriage manufacturing factory in the British Empire.
Around 1905, Rober ...
, founded by R. S. McLaughlin, became General Motors of Canada
General Motors of Canada Company (french: La Compagnie General Motors du Canada), commonly known as GM Canada, is the Canadian subsidiary of US-based company General Motors. It is headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
In the aftermath of ...
Limited. In 1919, GM acquired Guardian Frigerator Company
Frigidaire Appliance Company is the American consumer and commercial home appliances brand subsidiary of multinational company Electrolux.
Frigidaire was founded as the Guardian Frigerator Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and developed the first s ...
, part-owned by Durant, which was renamed Frigidaire
Frigidaire Appliance Company is the American consumer and commercial home appliances brand subsidiary of multinational company Electrolux.
Frigidaire was founded as the Guardian Frigerator Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and developed the first s ...
. With this acquisition, the General Motors Acceptance Corporation
Ally Financial is a bank holding company organized in Delaware and headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. The company provides financial services including car finance, online banking via a direct bank, corporate lending, vehicle insurance, mor ...
(GMAC), which provides financing to automotive customers, was formed.[
In 1920, du Pont orchestrated the removal of Durant once again and replaced him with Alfred P. Sloan. At a time when GM was competing heavily with ]Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
, Sloan established annual model changes, making previous years' models "dated" and created a market for used car
A used car, a pre-owned vehicle, or a secondhand car, is a vehicle that has previously had one or more retail owners. Used cars are sold through a variety of outlets, including franchise and independent car dealers, rental car companies, buy ...
s. He also implemented the pricing strategy used by all car companies today. The pricing strategy had Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
, Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
, Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...
, Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
, and Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
priced from least expensive to most, respectively.
In 1921, Thomas Midgley Jr.
Thomas Midgley Jr. (May 18, 1889 – November 2, 1944) was an American mechanical and chemical engineer. He played a major role in developing leaded gasoline (tetraethyl lead) and some of the first chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), better known i ...
, an engineer for GM, discovered tetraethyllead
Tetraethyllead (commonly styled tetraethyl lead), abbreviated TEL, is an organolead compound with the formula Pb( C2H5)4. It is a fuel additive, first being mixed with gasoline beginning in the 1920s as a patented octane rating booster that al ...
(leaded gasoline) as an antiknock agent, and GM patented the compound because ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
could not be patented. This led to the development of higher compression engines resulting in more power and efficiency. The public later realized that lead contained in the gasoline was harmful to various biological organisms including humans. Evidence shows that corporate executives understood the health implications of tetraethyllead
Tetraethyllead (commonly styled tetraethyl lead), abbreviated TEL, is an organolead compound with the formula Pb( C2H5)4. It is a fuel additive, first being mixed with gasoline beginning in the 1920s as a patented octane rating booster that al ...
from the beginning. As an engineer for GM, Midgley also developed chlorofluorocarbon
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are fully or partly halogenated hydrocarbons that contain carbon (C), hydrogen (H), chlorine (Cl), and fluorine (F), produced as volatile derivatives of methane, ethane, and prop ...
s, which have now been banned due to their contribution to climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
.
Under the encouragement of GM President Alfred P. Sloan Jr., GM acquired Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...
for $2.5 million in 1925. The company also acquired an interest in the Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company
The Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company was established in 1920 by John D. Hertz and was associated with the Yellow Cab Company which Hertz also owned.
History
The Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company was established in 1920 by John D. Hertz and was as ...
the same year, and its president, John D. Hertz
John Daniel Hertz, Sr. (April 10, 1879October 8, 1961) was an American businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder, and philanthropist.
Biography
Born Sándor Herz to a Jewish family in Szklabinya, Austria-Hungary (today Sklabiňa, a ...
, joined the board of directors of GM; it acquired the remainder of the company in 1943.
In 1926, the company introduced the Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
brand and established the General Motors Group Insurance Program to provide life insurance
Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...
to its employees. The following year, after the success of the 1927 model of the Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
Lasalle designed by Harley Earl
Harley Jarvis Earl (November 22, 1893 – April 10, 1969) was an American automotive designer and business executive. He was the initial designated head of design at General Motors, later becoming vice president, the first top executive ever ...
, Sloan created the "Art and Color Section" of GM and named Earl as its first director. Earl was the first design executive to be appointed to leadership at a major American corporation. Earl created a system of automobile design that is still practiced today. At the age of 24, Bill Mitchell was recruited by Harley Earl
Harley Jarvis Earl (November 22, 1893 – April 10, 1969) was an American automotive designer and business executive. He was the initial designated head of design at General Motors, later becoming vice president, the first top executive ever ...
to the design team at GM, and he was later appointed as Chief Designer of Cadillac. After Earl retired in December 1958, Mitchell took over automotive design for GM.
GM acquired Allison Engine Company
The Allison Engine Company was an American aircraft engine manufacturer. Shortly after the death of James A. Allison, James Allison in 1929 the company was purchased by the Fisher Body, Fisher brothers. Fisher sold the company to General Motors, ...
and began developing a 1,000 horsepower liquid-cooled aircraft engine in 1929. The same year, GM acquired 80% of Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...
, which at that time had a 37.5% market share
Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a ...
in Europe, for $26 million. It acquired the remaining 20% in 1931.
In the late-1920s, Charles Kettering embarked on a program to develop a lightweight two-stroke diesel engine
A two-stroke diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses compression ignition, with a two-stroke combustion cycle. It was invented by Hugo Güldner in 1899.Mau (1984) p.7
In compression ignition, air is first compressed and heated; ...
for possible usage in automobiles. Soon after, GM acquired Electro-Motive Company
Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its su ...
and the Winton Engine Co., and in 1941, it expanded EMC's realm to locomotive engine manufacturing.
In 1932, GM acquired Packard Electric. not the actual car company, which would merge with Studebaker
Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...
years later. The following year, GM acquired a controlling interest in North American Aviation
North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F ...
and merged it with the General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation.
The GM labor force participated in the formation of the United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico ...
labor union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
in 1935, and in 1936 the UAW organized the Flint Sit-Down Strike, which initially idled two key plants in Flint, Michigan, and later spread to 6 other plants including those in Janesville, Wisconsin
Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat and largest city in the county. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison–Jane ...
and Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
. In Flint, police attempted to enter the plant to arrest strikers, leading to violence; in other cities, the plants were shuttered peacefully. The strike was resolved on February 11, 1937, when GM recognized the UAW as the exclusive bargaining representative for its workers and gave workers a 5% raise and permission to speak in the lunchroom.
Jominy & Boegehold of GM invented the Jominy end-quench test for hardenability
The hardenability of a metal alloy is the depth to which a material is hardened after putting it through a heat treatment process. It should not be confused with hardness, which is a measure of a sample's resistance to indentation or scratching. I ...
of carbon steel in 1937, a breakthrough in heat treating
Heat treating (or heat treatment) is a group of industrial, thermal and metalworking processes used to alter the physical, and sometimes chemical, properties of a material. The most common application is metallurgical. Heat treatments are also ...
still in use today as ASTM
ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, an ...
A255. GM established Detroit Diesel
Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC) is an American diesel engine manufacturer headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is a subsidiary of Daimler Truck North America, which is itself a wholly owned subsidiary of the mulitinational Da ...
the next year.
In 1939, the company founded Motors Insurance Corporation and entered the vehicle insurance
Vehicle insurance (also known as car insurance, motor insurance, or auto insurance) is insurance for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bodily injury r ...
market. The same year, GM introduced the Hydramatic
Hydramatic (also known as Hydra-Matic) is an automatic transmission developed by both General Motors' Cadillac and Oldsmobile divisions. Introduced in 1939 for the 1940 model year vehicles, the ''Hydramatic'' was the first mass-produced fully-a ...
, the world's first affordable and successful automatic transmission
An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...
, for the 1940 Oldsmobile.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, GM produced vast quantities of armaments, vehicles, and aircraft for the Allies of World War II
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy. ...
. In 1940, GM's William S. Knudsen
William Signius Knudsen (March 25, 1879 – April 27, 1948) was a leading Danish-American automotive industry executive and an American general during World War II. His experience and success as a key senior manager in the operations sides of F ...
served as head of U.S. wartime production for President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Franklin Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, and by 1942, all of GM's production was to support the war. GM's Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...
manufactured the Churchill tank
The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) Churchill was a British infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, its ability to climb steep slopes, a ...
series for the Allies, instrumental in the North African campaign.[ However, its ]Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...
division, based in Germany, supplied the Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
with vehicles. Sloan, head of GM at the time, was an ardent opponent of the New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
, which bolstered labor unions
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
and public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
, and Sloan admired and supported Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
. Nazi armaments chief Albert Speer
Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, he ...
allegedly said in 1977 that Hitler "would never have considered invading Poland" without synthetic fuel
Synthetic fuel or synfuel is a liquid fuel, or sometimes gaseous fuel, obtained from syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, in which the syngas was derived from gasification of solid feedstocks such as coal or biomass or by reforming ...
technology provided by General Motors. GM was compensated $32 million by the U.S. government because its German factories were bombed by U.S. forces during the war.
Effective January 28, 1953, Charles Erwin Wilson
Charles Erwin Wilson (July 18, 1890 – September 26, 1961) was an American engineer and businessman who served as United States Secretary of Defense from 1953 to 1957 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Known as "Engine Charlie", he was prev ...
, then GM president, was named by Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
as United States Secretary of Defense
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...
.[
In December 1953, GM acquired ]Euclid Trucks
The Euclid Company of Ohio was a company that specialized in heavy equipment for earthmoving, namely dump trucks, loaders and wheel tractor-scrapers. It operated in the US from the 1920s to the 1950s, when it was purchased by General Motors. It ...
, a manufacturer of heavy equipment
Heavy equipment or heavy machinery refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. ''Heavy equipment'' usually comprises five e ...
for earthmoving
Earthworks are engineering works created through the processing of parts of the earth's surface involving quantities of soil or unformed rock.
Shoring structures
An incomplete list of possible temporary or permanent geotechnical shoring struct ...
, including dump truck
A dump truck, known also as a dumping truck, dump trailer, dumper trailer, dump lorry or dumper lorry or a dumper for short, is used for transporting materials (such as dirt, gravel, or demolition waste) for construction as well as coal. A typi ...
s, loaders and wheel tractor-scraper
In civil engineering, a wheel tractor-scraper (also known as a Tournapull) is a type of heavy equipment used for earthmoving. It has a pan/hopper for loading and carrying material. The pan has a tapered horizontal front cutting edge that cuts in ...
s, which later spawned the Terex
Terex Corporation is an American worldwide manufacturer of lifting and material-handling plant for a variety of industries including construction, infrastructure, quarrying, recycling, energy, mining, shipping, transportation, refining and ut ...
brand.
Alfred P. Sloan retired as chairman and was succeeded by Albert Bradley in April 1956.
In 1962, GM introduced the first turbo charged engine in the world for a car in the Oldsmobile Cutlass
The Oldsmobile Cutlass was a series of automobiles produced by General Motors' Oldsmobile division between 1961 and 1999. At its introduction, the Cutlass was Oldsmobile's entry-level model; it began as a unibody compact car, but saw its greates ...
Turbo-Jetfire.[ Two years later, the company introduced its " Mark of Excellence" logo and trademark at the ]1964 New York World's Fair
The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...
. The company used the mark as their main corporate identifier until 2021.
GM released the Electrovan in 1966, the first hydrogen fuel cell
A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...
car ever produced. Though fuel cells have existed since the early 1800s, General Motors was the first to use a fuel cell, supplied by Union Carbide
Union Carbide Corporation is an American chemical corporation wholly owned subsidiary (since February 6, 2001) by Dow Chemical Company. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers befor ...
, to power the wheels of a vehicle with a budget of "millions of dollars".
In the 1960s, GM was the first to use turbocharger
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
s and was an early proponent of V6 engine
A V6 engine is a six-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The first V6 engines were designed and produced independently by Marmon Motor Car Company, Deutz Gasmotoren Fabrik ...
s, but quickly lost interest as the popularity of muscle car
Muscle car is a description according to ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' that came to use in 1966 for "a group of American-made two-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." The '' Britannica Dictionary'' ...
s increased. GM demonstrated gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...
vehicles powered by kerosene
Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...
, an area of interest throughout the industry, but abandoned the alternative engine configuration due to the 1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
.
In partnership with Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
, GM's Delco Defense Electronics Division designed the Lunar Roving Vehicle
The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is a battery-powered four-wheeled rover used on the Moon in the last three missions of the American Apollo program ( 15, 16, and 17) during 1971 and 1972. It is popularly called the Moon buggy, a play on the t ...
, which traversed the surface of the Moon, in 1971. The following year, GM produced the first rear wheel anti-lock braking system
An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti-skid braking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintaini ...
for two models: the Toronado and Eldorado.
In 1973, the Oldsmobile Toronado was the first retail car sold with a passenger airbag
An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. Th ...
.
Thomas Murphy became CEO of the company, succeeding Richard C. Gerstenberg in November 1974.
GM installed its first catalytic converter
A catalytic converter is an exhaust emission control device that converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalyzing a redox reaction. Catalytic converters are usually ...
s in its 1975 models.
From 1978 to 1985, GM pushed the benefits of diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
s and cylinder deactivation Variable displacement is an automobile engine technology that allows the engine displacement to change, usually by deactivating cylinders, for improved fuel economy. The technology is primarily used in large, multi-cylinder engines. Many automobil ...
technologies. However, it had disastrous results due to poor durability in the Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...
diesels and drivability issues in the Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
V8-6-4 variable-cylinder engines.
GM sold Frigidaire in 1979. Although Frigidaire had between $450 million and $500 million in annual revenues, it was losing money.
Robert Lee of GM invented the Fe14Nd2B the Neodymium magnet, which was fabricated by rapid solidification, in 1984. This magnet is commonly used in products like a computer hard disk. The same year, GM acquired Electronic Data Systems
Electronic all cash BSN acc: 1311729000110205 Data Systems (EDS) was an American multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Plano, Texas which was founded in 1962 by Ross Perot. The company was a subs ...
for $2.5 billion from Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot (; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, politician and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an inde ...
as part of a strategy by CEO Roger Smith to derive at least 10% of its annual worldwide revenue from non-automotive sources. GM also intended to have EDS handle its bookkeeping, help computerize factories, and integrate GM's computer systems. The transaction made Ross Perot the largest shareholder of GM; however, disagreements with Roger Smith led the company to buy all shares held by Ross Perot for $750 million in 1986.
In a continuation of its diversification plans, GMAC formed GMAC Mortgage and acquired Colonial Mortgage as well as the servicing arm of Norwest Mortgage in 1985. This acquisition included an $11 billion mortgage portfolio. The same year, GM acquired the Hughes Aircraft Company
The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other produ ...
for $5 billion in cash and stock, and merged it into Delco Electronics
Delco Electronics Corporation was the automotive electronics design and manufacturing subsidiary of General Motors based in Kokomo, Indiana, that manufactured ''Delco'' Automobile radios and other electric products found in GM cars. In 1972, Gene ...
. The following year, GM acquired 59.7% of Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England which manufactures sports cars and racing cars noted for their light weight and fine handling characteristics.
Lotus was previously involved in Formula One r ...
, a British producer of high-performance sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
s.
In 1987, in conjunction with AeroVironment, GM built the Sunraycer, which won the inaugural World Solar Challenge
The World Solar Challenge (WSC), since 2013 named Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, is an international event for solar powered cars driving 3000 kilometres through the Australian outback.
With the exception of a four-year gap between ...
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
The General Motors EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by General Motors from 1996 to 1999. It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker and the first GM car designed to be ...
.
In 1988, GM acquired a 15% stake in AeroVironment.
In 1989, GM acquired half of Saab Automobile
Saab Automobile AB () is a defunct automotive industry, car manufacturer that was founded in Sweden in 1945 when its parent company, Saab AB, began a project to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in ...
's car operations for $600 million.
In August 1990, Robert Stempel
Robert Carl Stempel (July 15, 1933 – May 7, 2011) was chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation, General Motors (GM) from August1990 to November1992. He joined GM in 1958 as a design engineer at Oldsmobile and was key in the developmen ...
became CEO of the company, succeeding Roger Smith. GM cut output significantly and suffered losses that year due to the early 1990s recession
The early 1990s recession describes the period of economic downturn affecting much of the Western world in the early 1990s. The impacts of the recession contributed in part to the 1992 U.S. presidential election victory of Bill Clinton over incu ...
.
In 1990, GM debuted the General Motors EV1
The General Motors EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by General Motors from 1996 to 1999. It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker and the first GM car designed to be ...
(Impact) concept, a battery electric vehicle
A battery electric vehicle (BEV), pure electric vehicle, only-electric vehicle, fully electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle is a type of electric vehicle (EV) that exclusively uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs, wi ...
, at the LA Auto Show
The Los Angeles Auto Show is an annual auto show held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in early December. The LA Auto Show is an OICA sanctioned international exhibition. It is open to the public for ten days each year, filling of exhibit s ...
. It was the first car with zero emissions marketed in the US in over three decades. The Impact was produced as the EV1
The General Motors EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by General Motors from 1996 to 1999. It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker and the first GM car designed to ...
for the 1996 model year and was available only via lease from certain dealers in California and Arizona. In 1999–2002, GM ceased production of the vehicles and started to not renew the leases, disappointing many people, allegedly because the program would not be profitable and would cannibalize its existing business. All of the EV1s were eventually returned to General Motors, and except for around 40 which were donated to museums with their electric powertrains deactivated, all were destroyed. The documentary film ''Who Killed the Electric Car?
''Who Killed the Electric Car?'' is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Chris Paine that explores the creation, limited commercialization and subsequent destruction of the battery electric vehicle in the United States, specifically the G ...
'' covered the EV1 story.
In November 1992, John F. Smith Jr.
John Francis "Jack" Smith Jr. (born April 6, 1938) is an American businessman and executive who formerly served as COO in 1992, CEO from 1992 to 2000 and then chairman of the board of directors of General Motors from 1996 to 2000.
He later ser ...
became CEO of the company.
In 1993, GM sold Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England which manufactures sports cars and racing cars noted for their light weight and fine handling characteristics.
Lotus was previously involved in Formula One r ...
to Bugatti
Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars w ...
.
In 1996, in a return to its automotive basics, GM completed the corporate spin-off
A corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, or starburst or hive-off, is a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" a section as a separate business or creates a second incarnation, even if the first is still active.
Characte ...
of Electronic Data Systems
Electronic all cash BSN acc: 1311729000110205 Data Systems (EDS) was an American multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Plano, Texas which was founded in 1962 by Ross Perot. The company was a subs ...
.
In 1997, GM sold the military businesses of Hughes Aircraft Company
The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other produ ...
to Raytheon Company
The Raytheon Company was a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft unti ...
for $9.5 billion in stock and the assumption of debt.
In February 2000, Rick Wagoner
George Richard "Rick" Wagoner Jr. (born February 9, 1953) is an American businessman and former chair and chief executive officer of General Motors. Wagoner resigned as chairman and CEO at General Motors on March 29, 2009, at the request of the W ...
was named CEO, succeeding John F. Smith Jr.
John Francis "Jack" Smith Jr. (born April 6, 1938) is an American businessman and executive who formerly served as COO in 1992, CEO from 1992 to 2000 and then chairman of the board of directors of General Motors from 1996 to 2000.
He later ser ...
The next month, GM gave 5.1% of its common stock, worth $2.4 billion, to acquire a 20% share of Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
.
In May 2004, GM delivered the first full-sized pickup truck
A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...
hybrid vehicle
A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids.
The basic princip ...
s, the 1/2-ton Chevrolet Silverado
The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from th ...
/GMC Sierra
GMC Sierra (Classic) may refer to GMC counterparts, either as model names or as trim lines, to the following Chevrolet vehicles:
*Chevrolet C/K
*Chevrolet Silverado
*Chevrolet Suburban
The Chevrolet Suburban is a series of automobiles bui ...
trucks. These mild hybrid
Mild hybrids (also known as power-assist hybrids, battery-assisted hybrid vehicles or BAHVs) are generally cars with an internal combustion engine equipped with an electric machine (one motor/generator in a parallel hybrid configuration) allowing t ...
s did not use electrical energy for propulsion, like GM's later designs. Later, the company debuted another hybrid technology, co-developed with DaimlerChrysler and BMW, in diesel-electric hybrid powertrain manufactured by Allison Transmission
Allison Transmission is an American manufacturer of commercial duty automatic transmissions and hybrid propulsion systems. Allison products are specified by over 250 vehicle manufacturers and are used in many market sectors including bus, refuse, ...
for transit buses. Continuing to target the diesel-hybrid market, the Opel Astra
The Opel Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) developed and produced by the German automaker Opel since 1991, currently at its sixth generation. It was first launched in September 1991 as a direct replacement to the Opel Kadet ...
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
concept vehicle
A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or m ...
was rolled out in January 2005. Later that year, GM sold its Electro-Motive Diesel
Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its sub ...
locomotive division to private equity firm
A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including leve ...
s Berkshire Partners
Berkshire Partners is an American private equity firm based in Boston. It has invested in over 100 middle market companies since 1986 through nine investment funds with aggregate capital commitments of more than $16 billion. Berkshire has devel ...
and Greenbriar Equity Group.
GM paid $2 billion to sever its ties with Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
in 2005, severing ties with the company due to an increasingly contentious dispute.
GM began adding its " Mark of Excellence" emblem on all new vehicles produced and sold in North America in mid-2005. However, after the reorganization in 2009, the company no longer added the logo, saying that emphasis on its four core divisions would downplay the GM logo.
In 2005, Edward T. Welburn
Edward T. Welburn (born December 14, 1950) is an automobile designer and former General Motors' Vice President of Global Design, a role in which he served from 2003 to 2016 and the same position that Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell once held. To ...
was promoted to the newly created position of vice president, GM Global Design, making him the first African American to lead a global automotive design organization and the highest-ranking African American in the US motor industry at that time. On July 1, 2016, he retired from General Motors after 44 years. He was replaced by Michael Simcoe
Michael "Mike" Simcoe (born 1959–1960) is an automobile designer from Melbourne, Australia. He currently serves as General Motors' Vice President of Global Design, a position he has held since 2016.
Simcoe received an Associate Diploma of ...
.
In 2006, GM introduced a bright yellow gas cap on its vehicles to remind drivers that cars can operate using E85
E85 is an abbreviation typically referring to an ethanol fuel blend of 85% ethanol fuel and 15% gasoline or other hydrocarbon by volume.
In the United States, the exact ratio of fuel ethanol to hydrocarbon may vary according to ASTM 5798 that ...
ethanol fuel
Ethanol fuel is ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, used as fuel. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. The first production car running entirely on ethanol was the ...
. They also introduced another hybrid vehicle that year, the Saturn Vue Green Line.
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. Continuing their environmental-conscious development, GM started to offer the 2-mode hybrid system in the Chevrolet Tahoe
The Chevrolet Tahoe, and its badge engineered GMC Yukon counterpart, are full-size SUVs from General Motors, offered since 1994 and 1991, respectively. Since 1982, Chevrolet and GMC sold two different-sized SUVs under their 'Blazer' and 'Jimmy ...
, GMC Yukon
GMC may refer to:
Government India
* Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, in Gujarat
* Gobichettipalayam Municipal Corporation, in Tamil Nadu
* Guntur Municipal Corporation, in Andhra Pradesh
* Guwahati Municipal Corporation, in Assam
* Gwalior ...
, Cadillac Escalade
The Cadillac Escalade is a full-size luxury SUV engineered and manufactured by General Motors. It was Cadillac's first major entry into the SUV market. The Escalade was introduced for the 1999 model year in response to competition from the Merced ...
, and pickup truck
A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...
s.
In late 2008, the world's largest rooftop solar power installation was installed at GM's manufacturing plant in Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
. The Zaragoza solar installation has about of roof at the plant and contains about 85,000 solar panels. The installation was created, owned and operated by Veolia
Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. It pr ...
Environment and Clairvoyant Energy, which leases the rooftop area from GM.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy and bailout
In March 2009, after the company had received $17.4 billion in bailouts but was not effective in a turnaround, President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
forced the resignation of CEO Rick Wagoner
George Richard "Rick" Wagoner Jr. (born February 9, 1953) is an American businessman and former chair and chief executive officer of General Motors. Wagoner resigned as chairman and CEO at General Motors on March 29, 2009, at the request of the W ...
.
General Motors filed for a government-backed Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
reorganization on June 8, 2009. On July 10, 2009, the original General Motors sold assets and some subsidiaries to an entirely new company, including the trademark "General Motors".[ Liabilities were left with the original GM, renamed ]Motors Liquidation Company
Motors Liquidation Company (MLC), formerly General Motors Corporation, was the company left to settle past liability claims from General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization, Chapter 11 reorganization of American car manufacturer General Motors. It e ...
, freeing the companies of many liabilities and resulting in a new GM.[
Through the ]Troubled Asset Relief Program
The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase toxic assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President G ...
, the United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
invested $49.5 billion in General Motors and recovered $39 billion when it sold its shares on December 9, 2013, resulting in a loss of $10.3 billion. The Treasury invested an additional $17.2 billion into GM's former financing company, GMAC (now Ally Financial
Ally Financial is a bank holding company organized in Delaware and headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. The company provides financial services including car finance, online banking via a direct bank, corporate lending, vehicle insurance, mortgage ...
). The shares in Ally were sold on December 18, 2014, for $19.6 billion netting the government $2.4 billion in profit, including dividends. A study by the Center for Automotive Research found that the GM bailout saved 1.2 million jobs and preserved $34.9 billion in tax revenue.
In 2009, the company shut down its Saturn Corporation
The Saturn Corporation, also known as Saturn LLC, was an American automobile manufacturer, a registered trademark established on January 7, 1985, as a subsidiary of General Motors. The company was an attempt by GM to compete directly with Japane ...
and Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
brands after failing to find a buyer for the brands, and sold Hummer
Hummer (stylized as HUMMER) is a brand of pickups and SUVs that was first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. Although discontinued in 2010, Hummer returned as a sub-brand of GMC in 2020. ...
to Tengzhong.
General Motors Canada
General Motors of Canada Company (french: La Compagnie General Motors du Canada), commonly known as GM Canada, is the Canadian subsidiary of US-based company General Motors. It is headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
In the aftermath of the ...
was not part of the General Motors Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Post-reorganization
In June 2009, at the request of Steven Rattner
Steven Lawrence Rattner (born July 5, 1952) is a New York investment asset manager who served as lead adviser to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry in 2009. , lead adviser to President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
on the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry The Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry was an ''ad hoc'' group of United States cabinet-level and other officials that was formed by President Obama to deal with the financial bailout of automakers Chrysler and General Motors.
Based on a ...
, Edward Whitacre Jr., who had led a restructuring of AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
was named chairman of the company.
In July 2009, after 40 days of bankruptcy protection, the company emerged from the government-backed General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization
The 2009 General Motors Chapter 11 sale of the assets of automobile manufacturer General Motors and some of its subsidiaries was implemented through Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code in the United States bankruptcy court for the Southern ...
.
In December 2009, the board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
forced CEO Frederick Henderson
Frederick Arthur "Fritz" Henderson (born November 29, 1958) was President and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors. Prior to his appointment as CEO on March 31, 2009, Henderson was the Vice President of General Motors and had been with the co ...
to resign and Edward Whitacre Jr. was named interim CEO.
In 2010, GM acquired Americredit, a subprime lender, for $3.5 billion, which was merged into GM Financial
General Motors Financial Company, Inc. is the financial services arm of General Motors. The company is a global provider of auto finance, with operations in the United States, Latin America, Canada, Europe (which was sold to PSA Groupe and BNP ...
.
In November 2010, GM again became a public company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
via an initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
that was one of the world's top five largest IPOs to date.
The company returned to profitability in 2010.
In January 2010, GM sold Saab Automobile
Saab Automobile AB () is a defunct automotive industry, car manufacturer that was founded in Sweden in 1945 when its parent company, Saab AB, began a project to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in ...
to Dutch automaker Spyker Cars
Spyker Cars (, ) is a Dutch sports car marque. The modern Spyker Cars held the legal rights to the brand name. The company's motto is "''Nulla tenaci invia est via''", Latin for "For the tenacious, no road is impassable". The marque's logo dis ...
.
In May 2010, the company repaid a $6.7 billion loan from the government ahead of schedule.
In September 2010, Daniel Akerson
Daniel Francis Akerson (born October 21, 1948) is the former chairman and CEO of General Motors, serving from 2010 to 2014. Akerson succeeded Edward Whitacre as CEO on September 1, 2010, and became chairman of the board on January 1, 2011. He wa ...
became CEO of the company.
In 2010, GM introduced the Chevrolet Volt
The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid manufactured by General Motors, also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the Vauxhall Ampera in t ...
as an extended-range electric vehicle
A range extender is a fuel-based auxiliary power unit (APU) that extends the range of a battery electric vehicle by driving an electric generator that charges the vehicle's battery. This arrangement is known as a series hybrid drivetrain. The ...
(EREV), an electric vehicle with back-up generators powered by gasoline, or series plug-in hybrid. GM delivered the first Volt in December 2010. The Chevrolet Volt
The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid manufactured by General Motors, also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the Vauxhall Ampera in t ...
was a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engine ...
with back-up generators powered by gasoline
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
( range-extended electric vehicle). General Motors built a prototype two-seat electric vehicle with Segway Inc. An early prototype of the Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility
The Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility (PUMA) was an experimental electrically powered road vehicle created by Segway and adopted by General Motors as a concept vehicle representing the future of urban transportation. It operates on two w ...
vehicle—dubbed Project P.U.M.A. – was presented in New York at the 2009 New York International Auto Show
The New York International Auto Show is an annual auto show that is held in Manhattan in late March or early April. It is held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. It usually opens on or just before Easter weekend and closes on the first Su ...
.
In July 2011, General Motors invested $7.5 million in solar-panel provider Sunlogics to install solar panels on GM facilities.
In October 2011, GM introduced the Chevrolet Spark EV
The Chevrolet Spark ( ko, 쉐보레 스파크, translit=) is a city car manufactured by General Motors's subsidiary GM Korea from 1998 to 2022. The vehicle was initially developed by Daewoo and was introduced in 1998 as the Daewoo Matiz ( ko, 대 ...
, an all-electric car
An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quie ...
version of the third generation Chevrolet Spark
The Chevrolet Spark ( ko, 쉐보레 스파크, translit=) is a city car manufactured by General Motors's subsidiary GM Korea from 1998 to 2022. The vehicle was initially developed by Daewoo and was introduced in 1998 as the Daewoo Matiz ( ko, 대 ...
, the first all-electric passenger car marketed by General Motors in the U.S. since the General Motors EV1
The General Motors EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by General Motors from 1996 to 1999. It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker and the first GM car designed to be ...
was discontinued in 1999. The production version was unveiled at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show
The Los Angeles Auto Show is an annual auto show held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in early December. The LA Auto Show is an OICA sanctioned international exhibition. It is open to the public for ten days each year, filling of exhibit s ...
. The Chevrolet Spark
The Chevrolet Spark ( ko, 쉐보레 스파크, translit=) is a city car manufactured by General Motors's subsidiary GM Korea from 1998 to 2022. The vehicle was initially developed by Daewoo and was introduced in 1998 as the Daewoo Matiz ( ko, 대 ...
was released in the U.S. in selected markets in California and Oregon in June 2013. Retail sales began in South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
in October 2013.
In 2011, GM revived one of its idled U.S. factories for the production of a subcompact car
Subcompact car is a North American classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications.
According to the U.S. Environmental Prote ...
in Orion, Michigan
Orion Charter Township ( ) is a charter township of Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 39,816 as on July 1, 2019.
The official motto of the township and village is "Where living is a vacation". "Lake Orion" is often use ...
, with the creation of 1,500 jobs. This was the first time that GM produced a subcompact car
Subcompact car is a North American classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications.
According to the U.S. Environmental Prote ...
in the United States since the Chevrolet Chevette
The Chevrolet Chevette is a front-engine, rear-drive subcompact manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet for model years 1976–1987 as a three-door or five-door hatchback. Introduced in September 1975, the Chevette superseded the Vega as Chev ...
ended production in 1986. Production started in late 2011 with the Chevrolet Sonic
The Chevrolet Aveo ( ) is a subcompact car (B-segment) marketed by General Motors since 2002. Originally marketed as the Daewoo Kalos, takeover of Daewoo Motors by General Motors (GM) also saw the car being marketed under seven brands ( Chevrole ...
. GM ended production of the Sonic at Orion Assembly on October 19, 2020.
In 2012, PSA Group
The PSA Group (), legally known as Peugeot S.A. (Peugeot Société Anonyme, trading as Groupe PSA; formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles ...
and General Motors formed an alliance, and GM acquired 7% of PSA Group. The ownership was divested on December 13, 2013, generating gross proceeds of €250 million.
On July 2, 2013, GM and Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
announced a partnership to develop fuel cell
A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...
systems and hydrogen storage
Hydrogen storage can be accomplished by several existing methods of holding hydrogen for later use. These include mechanical approaches such as using high pressures and low temperatures, or employing chemical compounds that release H2 upon demand ...
technologies for the 2020 time frame. GM and Honda are leaders in fuel cell
A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...
technology, ranking first and second, respectively, in total fuel cell patents filed between 2002 and 2012, with more than 1,200 between them according to the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index.
In late 2013, after losing approximately $18 billion over 12 years, GM began phasing out mainstream sales of Chevrolet in Europe and finished by late 2015 to focus on Opel/Vauxhall. The Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
brand had been reintroduced in Europe in 2005, selling mostly rebranded Daewoo Motors
Daewoo Motors ( ) was a South Korean automotive company established in 1937 as "National Motors". The company changed its name several times until 1982 when it became "Daewoo Motors" following its acquisition by the Daewoo Group. After running ...
cars acquired by GM Korea
GM Korea Company ( ko, 한국지엠주식회사) is the South Korean subsidiary of multinational corporation General Motors. GMK is also the third largest automobile manufacturer in South Korea. GM Korea's roots go back to the former Daewoo Motors ...
.
On January 15, 2014, Mary Barra
Mary Teresa Barra (née Makela; born December 24, 1961) is an American businesswoman who has been the chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of General Motors since January 15, 2014. She is the first female CEO of a 'Big Three' automaker. In D ...
was named chief executive officer, succeeding Daniel Akerson
Daniel Francis Akerson (born October 21, 1948) is the former chairman and CEO of General Motors, serving from 2010 to 2014. Akerson succeeded Edward Whitacre as CEO on September 1, 2010, and became chairman of the board on January 1, 2011. He wa ...
. Barra also joined the GM board.
The 2014 General Motors recall, which was due to faulty ignition switches, and was linked to at least 124 deaths, was estimated to cost the company $1.5 billion.
In October 2015, the second-generation Volt was launched in the United States and Canada. The second generation had an upgraded drivetrain and improved battery system that increased the all-electric range
All-electric range (AER) is the maximum driving range of an electric vehicle using only power from its on-board battery pack to traverse a given driving cycle. In the case of an all-electric vehicle, it means the maximum range per recharge. For ...
from .
On January 4, 2016, GM invested $500 million in Lyft
Lyft, Inc. offers mobility as a service, ride-hailing, vehicles for hire, motorized scooters, a bicycle-sharing system, rental cars, and food delivery in the United States and select cities in Canada. Lyft sets fares, which vary using a dyn ...
. This was GM's first investment in ride-sharing
Carpooling (also car-sharing, ride-sharing and lift-sharing) is the sharing of Automobile, car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car, and prevents the need for others to have to drive to a location themselves.
By having more ...
.
In March 2016, General Motors acquired Cruise, a San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
self-driving vehicle start-up, to develop self-driving cars that could be used in ride-sharing fleets.
In October 2016, GM began production of the Chevrolet Bolt EV
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and oust ...
, the first ever mass market all-electric car
An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quie ...
with a range of more than . The battery pack and most drivetrain components were built by LG Corporation
LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is t ...
and assembled in GM's plant in Lake Orion, Michigan
Lake Orion ( ) is a village in the northern outskirts of Metro Detroit in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" can refer to either the village or the much larger Orion Township, of wh ...
.
In December 2016, General Motors began testing self-driving vehicles on public roads in Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
after Governor Rick Snyder
Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Snyder previ ...
signed bills legalizing the operation of autonomous vehicles.
In 2017, GM introduced its Super Cruise autopilot
An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...
feature into certain models of its cars.
On March 6, 2017, General Motors sold its Opel and Vauxhall brands to PSA Group
The PSA Group (), legally known as Peugeot S.A. (Peugeot Société Anonyme, trading as Groupe PSA; formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles ...
for $2.3 billion.
On April 20, 2017, the Government of Venezuela
Venezuela is a federal presidential republic.
The chief executive is the President of Venezuela who is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. Legislative power is vested in the National Assem ...
seized the General Motors Venezolana plant in Valencia, Carabobo
Valencia () is the capital city of Carabobo State and the third-largest city in Venezuela.
The city is an economic hub that contains Venezuela's top industries and manufacturing companies. It is also the largest city in the Valencia-Maracay m ...
.
In October 2017, GM acquired Strobe, a solid state LIDAR
Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...
company. Strobe's prototypes produce brief "chirps" of frequency-modulated
Frequency modulation (FM) is the encoding of information in a carrier wave by varying the instantaneous frequency of the wave. The technology is used in telecommunications, radio broadcasting, signal processing, and computing.
In analog freque ...
(FM) laser light, where the frequency within each chirp varies linearly. Measuring the phase and frequency of the echoing chirp allows the system to directly measure both the distance and the velocity of objects on the road ahead. Strobe, Cruise, and GM will work together to develop the technology for future self-driving cars.
In October 2018, Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
invested $2.75 billion in GM's self-driving car unit, including an initial investment of $275 million, followed by $2 billion within a year.
In November 2018, GM announced it would lay off more than 14,000 employees in North America, comprising 15% of its workforce and 25% of its executive staff in the region.[ The company ceased production at three assemblies: Lordstown Assembly in ]Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly in Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
and Oshawa in Canada and two engine/transmission (White Marsh, Maryland, and Warren, Michigan) plants in 2019.
In March 2019, GM ceased production of the Chevrolet Volt
The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid manufactured by General Motors, also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the Vauxhall Ampera in t ...
.
In March 2019, the company announced that it would begin production of a new EV model in Lake Orion, Michigan
Lake Orion ( ) is a village in the northern outskirts of Metro Detroit in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" can refer to either the village or the much larger Orion Township, of wh ...
.
In May 2019, General Motors received pushback on its plan to release a fleet of up to 2,500 modified Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles. The company planned to release these vehicles by Q4 of 2019 as part of initiatives to build a controlled self-driving fleet.
In November 2019, GM sold its former Chevy Cruze
The Chevrolet Cruze is a compact car that is produced by General Motors since 2008. It was designated as a globally developed, designed, and manufactured four-door compact sedan, complemented by a five-door hatchback body variant from 2011, and ...
plant in Lordstown, Ohio
Lordstown is a village in southern Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,332 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area.
Lordstown is best known as the home of the Lordstown Assembly, a Ge ...
to Lordstown Motors
Lordstown Motors Corporation (LMC) is an American electric vehicle automaker located in Lordstown, Ohio. The company is based at the Lordstown Assembly plant which previously belonged to General Motors.
History
Lordstown Motors was founded ...
.
In January 2020, GM announced the return of the Hummer
Hummer (stylized as HUMMER) is a brand of pickups and SUVs that was first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. Although discontinued in 2010, Hummer returned as a sub-brand of GMC in 2020. ...
nameplate as a series of electric vehicle
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
s to be sold from within the GMC portfolio, known as the GMC Hummer EV
The GMC Hummer EV (also known as Hummer EV and badged as HEV) is a line of battery electric full-size vehicles produced by General Motors under the GMC marque, and its own sub-brand. The Hummer EV line was introduced in October 2020 with t ...
. The first vehicle, a pickup truck variant with over 1,000 horsepower, shipped in December 2021.
On March 21, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, General Motors began assisting Ventec Life Systems to produce ventilators.
In April 2020, the company shut down Maven
MAVEN is an American spacecraft orbiting Mars to study the loss of its atmospheric gases to space, providing insight into the history of
the planet's climate and water. The spacecraft name is an acronym for "Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolu ...
, a car-sharing service in the United States.
In September 2020, GM announced a partnership with Nikola Corporation
Nikola Corporation is an American manufacturer of heavy-duty commercial battery-electric vehicles, fuel-cell electric vehicles, and energy solutions. It presented several vehicle concepts from 2016 to 2020, the first of which was a natural g ...
to engineer and manufacture the Nikola Badger
Nikola Corporation is an American manufacturer of heavy-duty commercial battery-electric vehicles, fuel-cell electric vehicles, and energy solutions. It presented several vehicle concepts from 2016 to 2020, the first of which was a natural g ...
, and GM made an equity investment in Nikola. The Badger will use GM's Ultium battery technology, and GM will be an exclusive fuel cell supplier for all of Nikola's class 7/8 trucks. Following fraud allegations from short-seller Hindenburg Research
Hindenburg Research LLC is an investment research firm with a focus on activist short-selling founded by Nathan Anderson in 2017 and based in New York City. Named after the 1937 Hindenburg disaster, which they characterize as a human-made avoidab ...
concerning the mechanical capabilities of the Badger pickup truck
A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...
along with separate sexual misconduct allegations involving former CEO Trevor Milton
Trevor Robert Milton (born April 6, 1982) is an American convicted felon, former businessman and the founder and former chairman and CEO of Nikola Corporation. In September 2020, Milton resigned from his position as chairman after the U.S. Securi ...
, GM scaled back its investment with Nikola via a smaller revised deal.
In September 2020, GM and Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
announced an alliance to cooperate on purchasing, research, and vehicle development.
In November 2020, GM committed to increased capital investment in electric vehicles to over half of new capital expenditures, totalling $27 billion over five years.
On January 8, 2021, GM introduced a new logo alongside a tagline "EVerybody in", with the capitalized "EV" as a nod to the company's commitment to electric vehicles. GM's new logo used negative space
Negative space, in art, is the empty space around and between the subject(s) of an image. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, not the subject itself, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape, and su ...
to create the idea of an electric plug in the "M" of the logo.
At the January 2021 Consumer Electronics Show
CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
, GM launched BrightDrop
BrightDrop is a subsidiary business created by the American manufacturer General Motors in 2021. The business offers a system of connected products targeting first- and last-mile delivery customers, including light commercial electric vehicles, ...
, its brand for all-electric commercial vehicle
A commercial vehicle is any type of motor vehicle used for transporting goods or paying passengers.
The United States defines a "commercial motor vehicle" as any self-propelled or towed vehicle used on a public highway in interstate commerce to ...
s.
On January 28, 2021, GM announced that it will end production and sales of fossil-fuel vehicles (including hybrids and plug-in hybrids) by 2035 as part of its plan to reach carbon neutrality
Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...
by 2040.
In 2021, GM announced plans to establish an automotive battery and battery pack
A battery pack is a set of any number of (preferably) identical batteries or individual battery cells. They may be configured in a series, parallel or a mixture of both to deliver the desired voltage, capacity, or power density. The term battery ...
laboratory in Michigan. GM will be responsible for battery management systems and power electronics, thermal management, as well as the pack assembly. An existing GM facility at Brownstown Township was chosen to be upgraded as a battery pack plant. LG Chem's U.S. subsidiary, Compact Power of Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
, 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.
in April 2021, after being criticized for not advertising enough in black-owned businesses
Black-owned businesses (or Black businesses), also known as African-American businesses, originated in the days of slavery before 1865. Emancipation and civil rights permitted businessmen to operate inside the American legal structure starting in ...
, General Motors said that it will spend 2% of 2021's advertising budget in Black-owned media and 4% in 2022 until reaching 8% in 2025.
In April 2021, GM announced a joint venture with LG, to build a $2.3 billion plant to build batteries for electric vehicles.
In November 2021, GM acquired a 25% stake in Pure Watercraft, a producer of all-electric boat
An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators.
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail pow ...
s.
General Motors has launched the largest investment project in its home state of Michigan, announcing plans to invest $7 billion to convert a plant to produce electric cars and build a new battery plant. Besides that General Motors has announced investment of $154 million into its Western New York Lockport Components plant.
In August 2022, the company announced that it would reinstate its quarterly dividend at a rate of 9 cents per share, compared to 38 cents per share when it was first cut in April 2020, and increase its share buyback program to $5 billion from $3.3 billion.
Also in August 2022, the company announced that it would offer buyouts to the roughly 2,000 Buick dealers in the US that didn't want to make investments as the company switches to an all-electric lineup. This move came after a similar move with Cadillac dealers that reduced their presence by about a third.
In September 2022, the firm announced it would introduce an electric version of its popular Chevy Equinox in the third quarter of 2023, priced around $30,000 to leave it less expensive than comparable vehicles. This move was another step in the firm's decision to go all-electric.
In October 2022, the company announced the creation of GM Energy, a new unit that would provide battery packs, EV chargers, and software to help residential and business customers to help with charging and electrical grid disruptions. Offerings would be tailored to specifics homes and businesses. At the time of the announcement, the company said some products would be provided by third party partners.
Other international history
China
For the Chinese market, most of its cars are manufactured within China. Shanghai GM
SAIC General Motors Corporation Limited (More commonly known as SAIC-GM; ; formerly known as "Shanghai General Motors Company Ltd", "Shanghai GM"; ) is a joint venture between General Motors Company and SAIC Motor that manufactures and sells Chev ...
, a joint venture with the Chinese company SAIC Motor
SAIC Motor Corp., Ltd. (formerly Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Anting, Shanghai. Founded in 1955, it is currently the largest of the " Big Four" state-owned car manu ...
, was created with Canadian Regal 1990 on March 25, 1997. The Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
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
SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile ( zh, 上汽通用五菱汽车股份有限公司, abbreviated as SGMW) is a joint venture between SAIC Motor, General Motors, and Liuzhou Wuling Motors Co Ltd. Based in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in sout ...
joint-venture is also selling microvans under the Wuling brand (34% owned by GM).
Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
is strong in China from its early introduction by the Canadian Buick sold to the last Emperor of China, later being led by the Buick Regal 1990 subcompact. The last emperor of China owned a Buick.
The Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
brand was introduced in China in 2004, starting with exports to China. GM pushed the marketing of the Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
brand in China in the mid-2000s as well. As part of this push, GM transferred Buick Sail
A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...
to that brand as an attempt to appeal to Chinese middle-class buyers looking for small and affordable cars.
In August 2009, FAW-GM
FAW-GM Light Duty Commercial Vehicle (FAW-GM) is a commercial vehicle manufacturing company headquartered in Changchun, China, and a 50:50 joint venture between FAW Group and General Motors. It was founded in 2009 and its activities include the Har ...
, a joint venture between GM and FAW Group
China FAW Group Corp., Ltd. (First Automobile Works) is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Changchun, Jilin. that mainly produced FAW Jiefang
FAW Jiefang is a truck manufacturing company headquartered in Changchun, Jilin, China, and a wholly owned subsidiary of FAW Group. It is the largest manufacturer of heavy trucks in China. FAW Jiefang was established in 2003 and has more than 22, ...
light-duty trucks, was formed. GM left the joint venture in 2019, and the Jiefang brand is now wholly owned by FAW.
In 2011, GM opened an auto research center as part of a US250 million corporate campus in Shanghai to develop gasoline-hybrid car
A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids.
The basic princip ...
s, electric vehicle
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
s and alternative fuel vehicle
An alternative fuel vehicle is a motor vehicle that runs on alternative fuel rather than traditional petroleum fuels (petrol or diesel fuel, petrodiesel). The term also refers to any technology (e.g. electric car, hybrid electric vehicles, Solar ...
s, engines, and new technologies. A second phase opened in 2012.
SAIC-GM-Wuling
SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile ( zh, 上汽通用五菱汽车股份有限公司, abbreviated as SGMW) is a joint venture between SAIC Motor, General Motors, and Liuzhou Wuling Motors Co Ltd. Based in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in sout ...
established the low-cost Baojun
Baojun () is a Chinese automobile marque owned by a joint venture of General Motors and SAIC Motor, SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile.
History
The Baojun marque was established in 2010 as a cheaper alternative to existing GM brands Chevrolet and Buick ...
brand to better compete with domestic rivals, Chery Automobile
Chery Automobile Co. Ltd., trading as Chery and sometimes known by the pinyin transcription of its Chinese name, ''Qirui'' (), is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wuhu, Anhui, China. Founded in 1997, it is curr ...
, Geely Automobile
Geely Auto is the primary car marque of Chinese group Geely. Listed as Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and controlled through holdings in Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Geely Auto is ZGH's mainstream brand primarily s ...
and BYD Auto
BYD Auto Co., Ltd. ("Build Your Dreams") is the automotive subsidiary of the publicly-listed Chinese multinational manufacturer BYD Company, headquartered in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China. It was founded in January 2003, following BYD Compa ...
for first-time buyers of cars priced around US$10,000.
Japan
GM maintains a dealership presence in Japan, called GM Chevrolet Shop, previously known as ''GM Auto World Shop''. Current GM Japan dealerships were either former Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...
dealerships or Isuzu dealership locations. GM products are also currently sold by the company Yanase Co., Ltd. since 1915.
Indonesia
In August 2011, GM announced plans to build a $150 million 190,300 square-foot plant in Bekasi
Bekasi (, su, ) is a city in West Java, Indonesia, located on the eastern border of Jakarta.the city of planet Bekasi is his nickname.It serves as a commuter city within the Jakarta metropolitan area. According to the 2020 Census by Statistics ...
, West Java
West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
, Indonesia, which would produce 40,000 passenger cars per year for the Southeast Asian
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
market. The plant opened on March 11, 2013. The plant was shut in 2015.
GM withdrew the Chevrolet brand from Indonesia in March 2020. However, GM will continue to sell the Wuling and Baojun badged vehicles in Indonesia through the SAIC-GM-Wuling
SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile ( zh, 上汽通用五菱汽车股份有限公司, abbreviated as SGMW) is a joint venture between SAIC Motor, General Motors, and Liuzhou Wuling Motors Co Ltd. Based in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in sout ...
joint venture.
South Korea
In October 2011, the South Korea free trade agreement
A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occur ...
opened the South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
n auto market to American-made cars. GM owns 77.0% of its joint venture in South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, GM Korea
GM Korea Company ( ko, 한국지엠주식회사) is the South Korean subsidiary of multinational corporation General Motors. GMK is also the third largest automobile manufacturer in South Korea. GM Korea's roots go back to the former Daewoo Motors ...
, which mainly designs and produces Chevrolet and Holden branded vehicles.[
In 2011, GM discontinued the Daewoo brand in South Korea and replaced it with the Chevrolet brand.
In 2018, the company approached the Korea Development Bank to participate in a $2.7 billion debt swap issued by its Korean subsidiary.
In February 2018, General Motors shut one factory in South Korea. The plant was affected by the pullout of the Chevrolet brand from Europe.
]
Uzbekistan
In 2008, GM Uzbekistan
UzAuto Motors (formerly GM Uzbekistan) is an automotive manufacturer owned by the Government of Uzbekistan. It is based in Asaka, Uzbekistan. It manufactures vehicles under the marques Chevrolet and Ravon, which is Uzbek for calm and straight roa ...
was established, owned 25% by GM. It produced Ravon, Chevrolet, and Daewoo branded vehicles. This interest was sold to the Government of Uzbekistan
The Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, O'zbekiston Respublikasining Hukumati/Узбекистон Республикасининг Ҳукумати) exercises executive power in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The members of the government ...
in 2019.
India
In 1928, GM became the first car maker to manufacture cars in India. GM entered the market for the second time in 1996. The older Halol, Gujarat plant, with a capacity of 50,000 units, stopped production on April 28, 2017, and was sold to MG Motor India
MG Motor India Private Limited is an automobile manufacturer in India, a subsidiary of Chinese automotive manufacturer SAIC Motor which markets vehicles under the British MG marque. The subsidiary was setup in the year 2017 and began its sales a ...
. GM continues to manufacture cars for the export market from its Talegaon Dhamdhere
Talegaon Dhamdhere is a panchayat village in the state of Maharashtra, India,2001 Census Village code for Talegaon Dhamdhere = 03050500, 2011 Census Village code for Talegaon Dhamdhere = 555634, on the right (south) bank of the Vel River (Bhi ...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
plant, which has a capacity of 160,000 units annually.
Thailand
GM stopped production of the Chevrolet Sonic
The Chevrolet Aveo ( ) is a subcompact car (B-segment) marketed by General Motors since 2002. Originally marketed as the Daewoo Kalos, takeover of Daewoo Motors by General Motors (GM) also saw the car being marketed under seven brands ( Chevrole ...
in Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
in mid-2015.
In February 2020, GM discontinued the Chevrolet brand in Thailand. GM withdrew from the Thai market and sold its Rayong plant to Great Wall Motors
Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd. (GWM) is a Chinese privately owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Baoding, Hebei. Founded in 1984, it is currently the eighth largest automobile manufacturer in China, with 1.281 million sales in 2021.
The co ...
.
Egypt
GM has a long history in Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
which began in the 1920s with the assembly of cars and light pickup trucks for the local market. In the mid of the 1950s, GM withdrew from the Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian market. Some years later, the Ghabbour Brothers began to assemble Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
, Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
, and Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
models up to the 1990s.
Since 1983, GM and Al-Monsour Automotive
Mansour Group is an Egyptian multinational conglomerate, with operations across the globe. The company is the second largest company in Egypt by revenue. It is the largest General Motors dealer in the world, and the fifth largest distributor of C ...
have owned General Motors Egypt
General Motors Egypt S.A.E. (, or short GME) is a car and motor vehicle manufacturer based in 6th October, Cairo, Egypt. The company's car factory is located in the 6th of October City and is one of the direct neighbors of the Egyptian German Autom ...
, which is currently the only manufacturer of traditional GM branded vehicles in Egypt.
Nigeria
In the 1920s, Miller Brothers Nigeria was founded as an importer of commercial vehicles of the Bedford brand in the country. In 1949, the company opened its own assembly plant and operated under the name Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languages[Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...](_blank)
Motors. In 1965 the plant and its distribution network were split into different companies and renamed Federated Motors Industries. In 1991 the company was taken in by a joint venture between General Motors and UACN of Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
.
Tunisia
In 1982, GM formed Industries Mécaniques Maghrébines
The Industries Mécaniques Maghrébines S.A. (IMM) are a Tunisian car manufacturer headquartered in the city of Kairouan. The company was founded in 1982 by GM and other investors and closed for the first time in 1988; the plant was reopened in 19 ...
, which built a plant in Kairouan
Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by th ...
, Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
.
East Africa
Formed in 1975, General Motors East Africa (GMEA) was the largest assembler of commercial vehicles in the region, exporting them from Kenya to East and Central African countries, including Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
, Tanzania, Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
, Rwanda and Burundi
Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...
. Its facility located in Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
assembled a wide range of Isuzu trucks and buses, including the popular Isuzu N-Series versatile light commercial vehicle, TF Series pick-ups, and Isuzu bus chassis. In addition to assembly, GMEA also marketed the Chevrolet Spark
The Chevrolet Spark ( ko, 쉐보레 스파크, translit=) is a city car manufactured by General Motors's subsidiary GM Korea from 1998 to 2022. The vehicle was initially developed by Daewoo and was introduced in 1998 as the Daewoo Matiz ( ko, 대 ...
and Optra. In 2017, GM sold its 57.7% stake in General Motors East Africa to Isuzu, and GMEA was renamed Isuzu East Africa Limited.
South Africa
General Motors began operating in South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
in 1913 through its wholly owned subsidiary, General Motors South Africa
General Motors South Africa (Pty) Ltd , or GMSA, was a wholly owned subsidiary of American automobile manufacturer General Motors. It manufactured and distributed automobiles under the Chevrolet, Opel and Isuzu brands. The deal with Isuzu was ...
, and was a market that briefly had its own local brand, Ranger
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
. Following the passage of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act
The Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 was a law enacted by the United States Congress. The law imposed sanctions against South Africa and stated five preconditions for lifting the sanctions that would essentially end the system of apart ...
in 1986, GM was forced to divest from South Africa, and GMSA became the independent Delta Motor Corporation
Delta Motor Corporation was a South African car manufacturer, which was created through a management buy-out after General Motors (GM) divested from South Africa in 1986. It was headed by former GM executive, Bob Price, who had returned to South A ...
. GM purchased a 49% stake in Delta in 1997 following the end of apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
and acquired the remaining 51% in 2004, reverting the company to its original name. By 2014, it was targeting the production of 50,000 cars a year but was being hampered by national labor unrest, strikes, and protests. GM exited the South Africa market in 2017, selling its parts business to Isuzu.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, GM locally assembled Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Pontiac vehicles from 1926 and Vauxhall cars from 1931. After World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the local production of Chevrolet and Vauxhalls resumed, followed by Pontiac in 1959. In 1954, sales of fully imported Holden
Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...
vehicles into New Zealand began. New Zealand assembly of Holdens began in 1957, and by the end of the 1960s, Holdens replaced all Chevrolets and Pontiacs (both in 1968) and most Vauxhalls. Opel, Bedford, and Isuzu vehicles were assembled or imported at different times during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. All local General Motors assembly plants in New Zealand closed by 1990. GM New Zealand was renamed Holden New Zealand
General Motors New Zealand Limited (formerly named Holden New Zealand Limited from 1994 until 2020), is a subsidiary of General Motors that distributes GM' motor vehicles, engines, components and parts in New Zealand.
This company was incorpora ...
in 1994.
Australia
In 1926, GM formed an Australian subsidiary, General Motors (Australia) Limited, which imported, distributed and assembled General Motors products. The bodies were manufactured at an Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
-based family business, Holden's Motor Body Builders, which had built up its operations with the help of tariff protection and amicable relations with trade unions. During the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, Holden's Motor Body Builders collapsed, which allowed General Motors to acquire Holden
Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...
, becoming General Motors-Holden MHin 1931. In 1948, the first fully manufactured Australian car, the Holden 48-215
The Holden 48-215 is a mid-size sedan which was produced by the Australian automaker Holden between November 1948 and October 1953. A coupe utility derivative, coded as the 50-2106 and marketed as the Holden Coupe Utility, was produced from J ...
, was released to great fanfare amongst the Australian public. It was marketed as "Australia's Own" Holden, and became an iconic feature of post-war Australian culture.
In 2020, GM discontinued the Holden brand due to poor reception and sales, shutting the facilities where they were produced. GM continues to export some Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC vehicles through a new entity called General Motors Specialty Vehicles.
In 2012, GM established Opel as a niche marque in Australia and began to sell Opel branded cars in Australia. However, in August 2013, sales of Opel ceased due to low sales.
Motorsports history
GM participated in the World Touring Car Championship
The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sin ...
(WTCC) from 2004 to 2012, and has also participated in other motorsport championships, including 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
, NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
, SCCA
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...
and Supercars Championship
The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.
Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
.
GM's engines were successful in the Indy Racing League
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
(IRL) throughout the 1990s, winning many races in the small V8 class. GM has also done much work in the development of electronics for GM auto racing
In 1986, the GM Motorsports group asked Delco Electronics Corporation (December), a subsidiary of GM Hughes Electronics (headquarters – Kokomo, Indiana) if an electronic engine management system could be developed for the Chevy Indy V8 engi ...
. An unmodified Aurora V8 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
The Cadillac V series (stylized as V-Series), is a line of high-performance vehicles tuned by the General Motors Performance Division for the Cadillac division of General Motors. Models in the V series tend to vary from one generation to the ot ...
has entered motorsports racing.
GM has also designed cars specifically for use in NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
auto racing. The Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro share ...
ZL1 is the only entry in the series. In the past, the Pontiac Grand Prix
The Grand Prix is a line of automobiles produced by the Pontiac Division of General Motors from 1962 until 2002 for coupes and 1989–2008 for sedans.
First introduced as a full-size performance coupe for the 1962 model year, the model varied ...
, Buick Regal
The Buick Regal is a line of mid-size cars marketed by Buick since 1973. For nearly its entire production, the Regal has served as the premium mid-size/intermediate offering of the Buick product range. Introduced as a submodel of the Buick Cent ...
, Oldsmobile Cutlass
The Oldsmobile Cutlass was a series of automobiles produced by General Motors' Oldsmobile division between 1961 and 1999. At its introduction, the Cutlass was Oldsmobile's entry-level model; it began as a unibody compact car, but saw its greates ...
, Chevrolet Lumina
The Chevrolet Lumina is a mid-size car that was produced and marketed by the Chevrolet division of General Motors from 1989 until 2001.
__TOC__
Background
The first generation of the Lumina replaced the Chevrolet Celebrity and Chevrolet Mon ...
, Chevrolet Malibu
The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet from 1964 to 1983 and again since 1997. The Malibu began as a trim-level of the Chevrolet Chevelle, becoming its own model line in 1978. Originally a rear-wheel-drive ...
, Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is a two-door coupe that was manufactured and marketed by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. Deriving its name from the city in Monaco, the Monte Carlo was marketed as the first personal luxury car of the Chevr ...
, Chevrolet Impala
The Chevrolet Impala () is a full-size car built by Chevrolet for model years 1958 to 1985, 1994 to 1996, and 2000 to 2020. The Impala was Chevrolet's popular flagship passenger car and was among the better-selling American-made automobiles in ...
, and the Chevrolet SS
The Holden Commodore (VF) is an executive car that was produced by Holden between June 2013 and October 2017. It was the second and last significantly restyled iteration of the fourth (and final) generation of the Holden Commodore to be manufa ...
were also used. GM has won many NASCAR Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
manufacturer's championships, including 40 with Chevrolet, the most of any make in NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
history, 3 with Oldsmobile, 2 with Buick, and 1 with Pontiac. In 2021, Chevrolet became the first brand to reach 800 wins.
In Australia, Holden
Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...
cars based on the Monaro, Torana
''Torana'' ( sa, तोरण; '' awr-uh-nuh') is a free-standing ornamental or arched gateway for ceremonial purposes in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain architecture of the Indian subcontinent. Toranas can also be widely seen in Southeast Asia and ...
and Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
platforms raced in the Australian Touring Car Championship
The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the Repco Supercars Championship awarded the trophy ...
until 2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
. Holden won the Bathurst 1000
The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recen ...
, a record 36 times between 1968 and 2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
and the Australian Touring Car Championship 23 times. From 2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
, the Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro share ...
will be raced.
Logo evolution
Evolution of the GM logo through the years:[GM redesigns iconic corporate logo as part new 'Everybody In' EV push]
by Kalea Hall on ''The Detroit News'' – 8 Jan 2021
File:Gm logo 1938.png, 1938–1964 [
File:General Motors logo.svg, Mark of Excellence (1964–2021) ][
File:Logo of General Motors.svg, 2001–2021 ][
File:GM-actualizado.svg, 2010–2021 ][
File:General Motors 2021 gloss.svg, 2021 (gradient) ][
File:General Motors (2021).svg, 2021 (flat)
File:General motors logo with wordmark.svg, 2022 (wordmark)
]
Brands
Current
Former
Financial results
Vehicle sales
General Motors was the largest global automaker by annual vehicle sales for 77 consecutive years, from 1931, when it overtook Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
, until 2008 when it was overtaken by Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
. This reign was longer than any other automaker, and GM is still among the world's largest automakers by vehicle unit sales.
In 2008, the third-largest individual country by sales was Brazil, with some 550,000 GM vehicles sold. In that year, Argentina, Colombia, and Venezuela sold another 300,000 GM vehicles, suggesting that the total GM sales in South America (including sales in other South American countries such as Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, etc.) in that year were at a similar level to sales in China.
In 2009, General Motors sold 6.5 million cars and trucks globally; in 2010, it sold 8.39 million. Sales in China rose 66.9% in 2009 to 1,830,000 vehicles and accounting for 13.4% of the market.
In 2010, General Motors ranked second worldwide with 8.5 million vehicles produced. In 2011, GM returned to the first place with 9.025 million units sold worldwide, corresponding to 11.9% market share
Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a ...
of the global motor vehicle
A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on Track (rail transport), rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of pe ...
industry. In 2010, vehicle sales in China by GM rose 28.8% to a record 2,351,610 units. The top two markets in 2011 were China, with 2,547,203 units, and the United States, with 2,503,820 vehicles sold. The Chevrolet brand was the main contributor to GM performance, with 4.76 million vehicles sold around the world in 2011, a global sales record.
Based on global sales in 2012, General Motors was ranked among the world's largest automakers.
In May 2012, GM recorded an 18.4% market share in the U.S. with stock imported.
Annual worldwide sales volume reached 10 million vehicles in 2016. Sales in India for April 2016 – March 2017 declined to 25,823 units from 32,540 the previous year and market share contracted from 1.17% to 0.85% for the same period. However, exports surged 89% during the same period to 70,969 units. GMTC-I, GM's technical center in Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
, India continued in operation. Weak product line-up and below par service quality were the reasons for the poor showing by GM in India that year.
Global Volt/Ampera family sales totalled about 177,000 units from its inception in December 2010 through 2018. including over 10,000 Opel/Vauxhall Amperas sold in Europe up to December 2015.[ '', the Nissan Leaf is the world's best-selling plug-in car in history with more than 250,000 units delivered, followed by the Tesla Model S with over 158,000 sales, the Volt/Ampera family of vehicles with 134,500 vehicles sold, and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV with about 116,500 units sold through November 2016. These are the only plug-in electric cars so far with over 100,000 global sales.''] The Volt family of vehicles ranked as the world's all-time top-selling plug-in hybrid
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
, and it is also the third best selling plug-in electric car
A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is any road vehicle that can utilize an external source of electricity (such as a wall socket that connects to the power grid) to store electrical power within its onboard rechargeable battery packs, which th ...
in history after the Nissan Leaf
The , stylized as LEAF, is a Compact car, compact five-door hatchback battery electric vehicle, battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufactured by Nissan. It was introduced in Japan and the United States in December 2010, and its second generation w ...
(375,000) and the Tesla Model S
The Tesla Model S is a Battery electric vehicle, battery-powered liftback car serving as the flagship model of Tesla, Inc. The Model S features a dual-motor, all-wheel drive layout, although earlier versions of the Model S featured a rear-moto ...
(253,000), .[ The Chevrolet Volt is also the U.S. all-time top-selling plug-in electric car with 148,556 units delivered through October 2018.]
Management
Current board of directors
Notable members of the board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
of the company are as follows:[
]
Chairmen of the Board of General Motors
* Thomas Neal—November 19, 1912 – November 16, 1915
*Pierre S. du Pont
Pierre Samuel du Pont (; January 15, 1870 – April 4, 1954) was an American entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and member of the prominent du Pont family.
He was president of DuPont from 1915 to 1919, and served on its board of director ...
—November 16, 1915 – February 7, 1929
*Lammot du Pont II
Lammot du Pont II (October 12, 1880 – July 24, 1952) was an American businessman who was the head of the du Pont family's E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company for 22 years.
Early life
He was born on October 12, 1880, in Wilmington, Delaware. H ...
—February 7, 1929 – May 3, 1937
*Alfred P. Sloan Jr.
Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. ( ; May 23, 1875February 17, 1966) was an American executive officer, business executive in the automotive industry. He was a long-time President (corporate title), president, chairman and CEO of General Motors, Genera ...
—May 3, 1937 – April 2, 1956
* Albert Bradley—April 2, 1956 – August 31, 1958
* Frederic G. Donner—September 1, 1958 – October 31, 1967
* James M. Roche—November 1, 1967 – December 31, 1971
* Richard C. Gerstenberg—January 1, 1972 – November 30, 1974
* Thomas A. Murphy—December 1, 1974 – December 31, 1980
* Roger B. Smith—January 1, 1981 – July 31, 1990
*Robert C. Stempel
Robert Carl Stempel (July 15, 1933 – May 7, 2011) was chairman and CEO of General Motors (GM) from August1990 to November1992. He joined GM in 1958 as a design engineer at Oldsmobile and was key in the development of the front-wheel drive ...
—August 1, 1990 – November 1, 1992
* John G. Smale—November 2, 1992 – December 31, 1995
*John F. Smith Jr.
John Francis "Jack" Smith Jr. (born April 6, 1938) is an American businessman and executive who formerly served as COO in 1992, CEO from 1992 to 2000 and then chairman of the board of directors of General Motors from 1996 to 2000.
He later ser ...
—January 1, 1996 – April 30, 2003
*Rick Wagoner
George Richard "Rick" Wagoner Jr. (born February 9, 1953) is an American businessman and former chair and chief executive officer of General Motors. Wagoner resigned as chairman and CEO at General Motors on March 29, 2009, at the request of the W ...
—May 1, 2003 – March 30, 2009
*Kent Kresa
Kent Kresa (born March 24, 1938) is an American businessman. Formerly, he was Chairman and CEO of Northrop Grumman, as well as Chairman of General Motors and has worked with the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), the Lincoln Lab ...
—March 30, 2009 – July 10, 2009
* Edward Whitacre Jr.—July 10, 2009 – December 31, 2010
*Daniel Akerson
Daniel Francis Akerson (born October 21, 1948) is the former chairman and CEO of General Motors, serving from 2010 to 2014. Akerson succeeded Edward Whitacre as CEO on September 1, 2010, and became chairman of the board on January 1, 2011. He wa ...
—December 31, 2010 – January 15, 2014
* Tim Solso—January 15, 2014 – January 4, 2016
*Mary Barra
Mary Teresa Barra (née Makela; born December 24, 1961) is an American businesswoman who has been the chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of General Motors since January 15, 2014. She is the first female CEO of a 'Big Three' automaker. In D ...
—January 4, 2016 – Present
Chief Executive Officers of General Motors
Chief Executive Officers of General Motors
*Alfred P. Sloan Jr.
Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. ( ; May 23, 1875February 17, 1966) was an American executive officer, business executive in the automotive industry. He was a long-time President (corporate title), president, chairman and CEO of General Motors, Genera ...
—May 10, 1923 – June 3, 1946
*Charles Erwin Wilson
Charles Erwin Wilson (July 18, 1890 – September 26, 1961) was an American engineer and businessman who served as United States Secretary of Defense from 1953 to 1957 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Known as "Engine Charlie", he was prev ...
—June 3, 1946 – January 26, 1953
*Harlow H. Curtice
Harlow Herbert Curtice (August 15, 1893 – November 3, 1962) was an American automotive industry executive who led General Motors (GM) from 1953 to 1958. As GM's chief, he was selected as Man of the Year for 1955 by ''Time'' magazine.
Curtice ...
—February 2, 1953 – August 31, 1958
* James M. Roche—November 1, 1967 – December 31, 1971
* Richard C. Gerstenberg—January 1, 1972 – November 30, 1974
* Thomas A. Murphy—December 1, 1974 – December 31, 1980
* Roger B. Smith—January 1, 1981 – July 31, 1990
*Robert C. Stempel
Robert Carl Stempel (July 15, 1933 – May 7, 2011) was chairman and CEO of General Motors (GM) from August1990 to November1992. He joined GM in 1958 as a design engineer at Oldsmobile and was key in the development of the front-wheel drive ...
—August 1, 1990 – November 1, 1992
*John F. Smith Jr.
John Francis "Jack" Smith Jr. (born April 6, 1938) is an American businessman and executive who formerly served as COO in 1992, CEO from 1992 to 2000 and then chairman of the board of directors of General Motors from 1996 to 2000.
He later ser ...
—November 2, 1992 – May 31, 2000
*Rick Wagoner
George Richard "Rick" Wagoner Jr. (born February 9, 1953) is an American businessman and former chair and chief executive officer of General Motors. Wagoner resigned as chairman and CEO at General Motors on March 29, 2009, at the request of the W ...
—June 1, 2000 – March 30, 2009
*Frederick Henderson
Frederick Arthur "Fritz" Henderson (born November 29, 1958) was President and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors. Prior to his appointment as CEO on March 31, 2009, Henderson was the Vice President of General Motors and had been with the co ...
—March 30, 2009 – December 1, 2009
* Edward Whitacre Jr.—December 1, 2009 – September 1, 2010
*Daniel Akerson
Daniel Francis Akerson (born October 21, 1948) is the former chairman and CEO of General Motors, serving from 2010 to 2014. Akerson succeeded Edward Whitacre as CEO on September 1, 2010, and became chairman of the board on January 1, 2011. He wa ...
—September 1, 2010 – January 15, 2014
*Mary Barra
Mary Teresa Barra (née Makela; born December 24, 1961) is an American businesswoman who has been the chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of General Motors since January 15, 2014. She is the first female CEO of a 'Big Three' automaker. In D ...
—January 15, 2014 – Present
Philanthropy
GM publishes an annual Social Impact Report detailing its contributions to charity; in 2020 it provided nearly $35 million in funding to 357 U.S.-based non-profits as well as in-kind assets (primarily donations of vehicles) to non-profits valued at more than $9.8 million. From 1976 until 2017, philanthropic activity was carried out via the General Motors Foundation
General Motors Foundation, Inc. was a 501(c)(3) organization and the philanthropic vehicle of General Motors from its establishment in 1976 until its termination in 2017.
Charities funded by the foundation included Safe Kids Worldwide, College f ...
, a 501(c)(3) foundation.
General Motors has a close relationship with the Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
and has fundraised for and donated cash and vehicles to the charity.
In 1996, GM commissioned five designer-original vehicles, sold in a silent auction for Concept: Cure, to benefit the Nina Hyde Center for breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
research, founded by Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren, ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his co ...
. The program involved five designers, each lending their artistic talents to customize five different vehicles. Nicole Miller
Nicole Miller is an American fashion designer and businesswoman.
Miller attended the Rhode Island School of Design where she earned a BFA in Apparel Design. She studied for a year at L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture ParisienneBal ...
, Richard Tyler, Anna Sui
Anna Sui (; born August 4, 1964) is an American fashion designer. She was named one of the "Top 5 Fashion Icons of the Decade", and in 2009 earned the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (C ...
, Todd Oldham
Todd Oldham (born Jacky Todd Oldham; October 22, 1961) is an American-born designer and president of L-7 Designs Inc and Todd Oldham Studios. His approach to fashion and style has become known to millions through his fashion lines, interior desig ...
, and Mark Eisen were tasked with transforming a Cadillac STS, Buick Riviera
The Buick Riviera is a personal luxury car that was marketed by Buick from 1963 to 1999, with the exception of the 1994 model year.
As General Motors' first entry into the personal luxury car market segment, the Riviera was highly praised by au ...
, GMC Yukon
GMC may refer to:
Government India
* Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, in Gujarat
* Gobichettipalayam Municipal Corporation, in Tamil Nadu
* Guntur Municipal Corporation, in Andhra Pradesh
* Guwahati Municipal Corporation, in Assam
* Gwalior ...
, Oldsmobile Bravada
The Oldsmobile Bravada is a four-door mid-size SUV manufactured and marketed by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors. The Bravada was built across three generations as a rebadged variant of the Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Jimmy. It was the on ...
and Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro share ...
Z28, respectively. The cars were then auctioned with the proceeds presented to the Nina Hyde Center at the Greater LA Auto Show
The Los Angeles Auto Show is an annual auto show held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in early December. The LA Auto Show is an OICA sanctioned international exhibition. It is open to the public for ten days each year, filling of exhibit s ...
in 1997.
Since 1997, GM has been a source of funding for Safe Kids Worldwide
Safe Kids Worldwide (formerly Safe Kids USA) is a global non-profit organization working to prevent childhood injury through research, community outreach, legislative advocacy and media awareness campaigns. Safe Kids Worldwide has over 400 coali ...
's "Safe Kids Buckle Up" program, an initiative to ensure child automobile safety through education and inspection.
Labor conflicts
Flint sit-down strike
The 1936–1937 Flint sit-down strike against General Motors changed the United Automobile Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...
(UAW) from a collection of isolated local union
A local union (often shortened to local), in North America, or union branch (known as a lodge in some unions), in the United Kingdom and other countries, is a local branch (or chapter) of a usually national trade union. The terms used for sub-bran ...
s on the fringes of the industry into a major labor union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
and led to the unionization of the domestic United States automobile industry
The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such ...
.
After the first convention of UAW in 1936, the union decided that it could not survive by piecemeal organizing
Organizing or organized may refer to:
* Organizing (management), a process of coordinating task goals and activities to resources
* Community organizing, in which communities come together to act in their shared self-interest
* Professional org ...
campaigns at smaller plants, as it had in the past, but that it could organize the automobile industry only by going after its biggest and most powerful employer, General Motors Corporation
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
, focusing on GM's production complex in Flint, Michigan.
Organizing in Flint was a difficult and dangerous plan. GM controlled city politics in Flint and kept a close eye on outsiders. According to Wyndham Mortimer
Wyndham Mortimer (March 11, 1884 – August 25, 1966) was an American trade union organizer and functionary active in the United Auto Workers union (UAW). Mortimer is best remembered as a key union organizer in the 1937 Flint Sit-Down Strike. ...
, the UAW officer put in charge of the organizing campaign in Flint, he received a death threat by an anonymous caller when he visited Flint in 1936. GM also maintained an extensive network of spies throughout its plants. This forced UAW members to keep the names of new members secret and meeting workers at their homes.
As the UAW studied its target, it discovered that GM had only two factories that produced the dies from which car body components were stamped: one in Flint that produced the parts for Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
s, Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
s, and Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...
s, and another in Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
that produced Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
parts.
While the UAW called for a sit-down strike in Flint, the police, armed with guns and tear gas, attempted to enter the Fisher Body 2 plant on January 11, 1937. The strikers inside the plant pelted them with hinges, bottles, and bolts. At the time, Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
John Nance Garner
John Nance Garner III (November 22, 1868 – November 7, 1967), known among his contemporaries as "Cactus Jack", was an American History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and lawyer from History of Texas, Texas who ...
supported federal intervention to break up the Flint Strike, but this idea was rejected by President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
. The president urged GM to distinguish a union so the plants could re-open. The strike ended after 44 days.
That development forced GM to bargain with the union. John L. Lewis
John Llewellyn Lewis (February 12, 1880 – June 11, 1969) was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) from 1920 to 1960. A major player in the history of coal mining, he was the d ...
, President of the United Mine Workers and founder and leader of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, spoke for the UAW in those negotiations; UAW President Homer Martin (labor leader), Homer Martin was sent on a speaking tour to keep him out of the way. GM's representatives refused to be in the same room as the UAW, so Governor Frank Murphy acted as a courier and mediation, intermediary between the two groups. Governor Murphy sent in the U.S. National Guard not to evict the strikers but rather to protect them from the police and corporate strike-breakers. The two parties finally reached an agreement on February 11, 1937, on a one-page agreement that recognized the UAW as the exclusive bargaining representative for GM's employees, who were union members for the next six months.
Tool and die strike of 1939
The tool and die strike of 1939, also known as the "strategy strike", was an ultimately successful attempt by the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) to be recognized as the sole representative for General Motors workers. In addition to representation rights, the UAW, working jointly with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), sought to resolve existing grievances of skilled workers.
United Auto Workers (UAW) strike of 1945–1946
From November 21, 1945, until March 13, 1946, (113 days) Congress of Industrial Organizations, CIO's United Automobile Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...
(UAW), organized "320,000 hourly workers" to form a US-wide strike against the General Motors Corporation
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
, workers used the tactic of the sit down strike. It was "the longest strike against a major manufacturer" that the UAW had yet seen, and it was also "the longest national GM strike in its history". As director of the UAW's General Motors Department (coordinator of union relations with GM), Walter Reuther suggested to his colleagues the idea of striking the GM manufacturing plants with a 'one-at-a-time' strategy, which was "intended to maximize pressure on the target company". Reuther also put forth the demands of the strikers: a 30 percent increase in wages and a hold on product prices. However, the strike ended with the dissatisfaction of Walter Reuther and the UAW, and the workers received only a 17.5-percent increase in wages.
2007 General Motors strike
The 2007 General Motors strike was a strike from September 24 to 26, 2007, by the United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico ...
(UAW) against General Motors.
On September 24, 2007, General Motors workers represented by the United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico ...
union went on strike against the company. The first US-wide strike against GM since 1970 was expected to idle 59 plants and facilities for an indefinite period of time. Talks broke down after more than 20 straight days of bargaining failed to produce a new contract. Major issues that proved to be stumbling blocks for an agreement included wages, benefits, job security and investments in US facilities.
Two car assembly plants in Oshawa, Ontario and a transmission facility in Windsor, Ontario, Windsor closed on September 25. However, on September 26, a tentative agreement was reached, and the strike's end was announced by UAW officials in a news conference at 4 a.m. By the following day, all GM workers in both countries were back to work.
2019 General Motors strike
On the morning of September 15, 2019, after talks broke down to renew their contract, which expired earlier that day, the United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico ...
announced that GM employees would begin striking at 11:59 PM. This strike shut down operations in nine states, including 33 manufacturing plants and 22 parts distribution warehouses.
After 40 days, on October 25, 2019, the "longest strike by autoworkers in a decade" and the longest against GM since 1970 came to an end when United Auto Workers members voted to approve a new contract with GM. The strike cost GM more than $2 billion, while members of the labor union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
were reduced to a salary of $275 a week in strike pay.
Controversies
Streetcar conspiracy
Between 1938 and 1950, GM allegedly deliberately monopolized the sale of buses and supplies to National City Lines (NCL) and its subsidiaries, in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author.
T ...
, intending to dismantle tram, streetcar systems in many cities in the United States and make buses, sold by GM, the dominant form of public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
.
Ralph Nader and the Corvair
''Unsafe at Any Speed'' by Ralph Nader, published in 1965, is a book accusing car manufacturers of being slow to introduce safety features and reluctant to spend money on improving safety. It relates to the first models of the Chevrolet Corvair (1960–1964) that had a swing axle suspension design that was prone to 'tuck under' in certain circumstances. To compensate for the removal of a front stabilizer bar (anti-roll bar) as a cost-cutting measure, Corvairs required tire pressures that were outside of the tire manufacturer's recommended tolerances. The Corvair relied on an unusually high front to rear pressure differential (15 psi front, 26 psi rear, when cold; 18 psi and 30 psi hot), and if one inflated the tires equally, as was standard practice for all other cars at the time, the result was dangerous over-steer.
In early March 1966, several media outlets, including ''The New Republic'' and ''The New York Times'', alleged that GM had tried to discredit Ralph Nader, hiring private detectives to tap his phones and investigate his past, and hiring prostitutes to trap him in compromising situations. Nader sued the company for invasion of privacy and settled the case for $425,000. Nader's lawsuit against GM was ultimately decided by the New York Court of Appeals, whose opinion in the case expanded tort law to cover "overzealous surveillance". Nader used the proceeds from the lawsuit to start the pro-consumer Center for Study of Responsive Law.
A 1972 safety commission report conducted by Texas A&M University concluded that the 1960–1963 Corvair possessed no greater potential for loss of control than its contemporary competitors in extreme situations. The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a press release in 1972 describing the findings of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA testing from the previous year. NHTSA conducted a series of comparative tests in 1971 studying the handling of the 1963 Corvair and four contemporary cars — a Ford Falcon (North America), Ford Falcon, Plymouth Valiant, Volkswagen Beetle, and Renault Dauphine — along with a second-generation Corvair (with its completely redesigned, independent rear suspension). The 143-page report reviewed NHTSA's extreme-condition handling tests, national crash-involvement data for the cars in the test as well as General Motors' internal documentation regarding the Corvair's handling. NHTSA went on to contract an independent advisory panel of engineers to review the tests. This review panel concluded that 'the 1960–63 Corvair compares favorably with contemporary vehicles used in the tests [...] the handling and stability performance of the 1960–63 Corvair does not result in an abnormal potential for loss of control or rollover, and it is at least as good as the performance of some contemporary vehicles both foreign and domestic'.
Former GM executive John DeLorean asserted, in his book ''On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors'', that Nader's criticisms were valid.
Journalist David E. Davis noted that despite Nader's claim that swing-axle rear suspension were dangerous, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen all used similar swing-axle concepts during that era.
Ignition switch recall
In May 2014, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fined the company $35 million for failing to recall cars with faulty ignition switches for a decade, despite knowing there was a problem with the switches. General Motors paid compensation for 124 deaths linked to the faulty switches. The $35 million fine was the maximum the regulator could impose. The total cost of the recall was estimated to be $1.5 billion.[ As well as the Cobalts, the switches of concern had been installed in many other cars, such as the Pontiac G5, the Saturn Ion, the Chevrolet HHR, the Saturn Sky, and Pontiac Solstice. The recall involved about 2.6 million GM cars worldwide.
]
Xinjiang region
In 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute accused at least 82 major brands, including General Motors, of being connected to forced Uyghurs, Uyghur labor in Xinjiang.
See also
* History of General Motors
* Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
* ASOTRECOL
* Crucible Industries
* EcoCAR
* General Motors EV1
The General Motors EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by General Motors from 1996 to 1999. It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker and the first GM car designed to be ...
* General Motors Hy-wire
* General Motors Proving Grounds
* General Motors streetcar conspiracy
* General Motors Technical Center
* :General Motors people, GM people
* :General Motors vehicles, GM vehicles by brand
* List of automobile manufacturers of the United States
* List of GM engines
* List of General Motors factories
* List of GM platforms
* List of GM transmissions
* United States Council for Automotive Research
* VIA Motors
References
Further reading
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External links
*
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