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The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, 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 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. Th ...
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 and Baojun as well as DMAX via joint ventures. Additionally, GM also owns the BrightDrop 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; the auto parts company ACDelco, a namesake financial lending service; and majority ownership in the self-driving cars enterprise Cruise LLC. In January 2021, GM announced plans to end production and sales of vehicles using internal combustion engines, 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 by 2040. GM offers more flexible-fuel vehicles, which can operate on either E85 ethanol fuel or gasoline, or any blend of both, than any other automaker. The company traces itself to a holding company 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. 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 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, with partner Charles Stewart Mott, borrowing a naming convention from General Electric. 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 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), 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 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 The Panic of 1910–1911 was a minor economic depression that followed the enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which regulates the competition among enterprises, trying to avoid monopolies and, generally speaking, a failure of the market itse ...
that followed the earlier enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. 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 (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, who left the company in 1915 after a disagreement with Durant. GM was reincorporated in Detroit in 1916 as General Motors Corporation and became a public company via an initial public offering. 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 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. Chevrolet Motor Company was consolidated into GM on May 2, 1918, and the same year GM acquired United Motors, a parts supplier founded by Durant and headed by
Alfred P. Sloan Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. ( ; May 23, 1875February 17, 1966) was an American business executive in the automotive industry. He was a long-time president, chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation. Sloan, first as a senior executive and lat ...
for $45 million, and the McLaughlin Motor Car Company, founded by R. S. McLaughlin, became General Motors of Canada Limited. In 1919, GM acquired Guardian Frigerator Company, part-owned by Durant, which was renamed Frigidaire. With this acquisition, the General Motors Acceptance Corporation (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 Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. ( ; May 23, 1875February 17, 1966) was an American business executive in the automotive industry. He was a long-time president, chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation. Sloan, first as a senior executive and lat ...
. At a time when GM was competing heavily with Ford Motor Company, Sloan established annual model changes, making previous years' models "dated" and created a market for used cars. 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, Oldsmobile,
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 (leaded gasoline) as an antiknock agent, and GM patented the compound because ethanol 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 from the beginning. As an engineer for GM, Midgley also developed chlorofluorocarbons, which have now been banned due to their contribution to climate change. Under the encouragement of GM President Alfred P. Sloan Jr., GM acquired Vauxhall Motors for $2.5 million in 1925. The company also acquired an interest in the Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company 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 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, 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 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 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 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 Ferranti-Packard Ltd. was the Canadian division of Ferranti's global manufacturing empire, formed by the 1958 merger of Ferranti Electric and Packard Electric. For several years in the post-war era, the company underwent a dramatic expansion and ...
. 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 Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, also known as Fokker-America and Atlantic-Fokker, was a US subsidiary of the Dutch Fokker company, responsible for sales and information about Fokker imports, and eventually constructing various Fokker designs."The ...
. The GM labor force participated in the formation of the United Auto Workers
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 and Fort Wayne, Indiana. 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 of carbon steel in 1937, a breakthrough in heat treating 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 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, for the 1940 Oldsmobile. During World War II, GM produced vast quantities of armaments, vehicles, and aircraft for the Allies of World War II. 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
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 manufactured the Churchill tank 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 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 and public transport, and Sloan admired and supported Adolf Hitler. 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 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, then GM president, was named by Dwight D. Eisenhower as United States Secretary of Defense. In December 1953, GM acquired Euclid Trucks, 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, including dump trucks, 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 brand.
Alfred P. Sloan Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. ( ; May 23, 1875February 17, 1966) was an American business executive in the automotive industry. He was a long-time president, chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation. Sloan, first as a senior executive and lat ...
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 Turbo-Jetfire. Two years later, the company introduced its "
Mark of Excellence The Mark of Excellence is a former trademark of General Motors Corporation. It was first introduced at GM's pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. The logo consisted of the original "GM" logo with the phrase "Mark of Excellence" at the bott ...
" 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, to power the wheels of a vehicle with a budget of "millions of dollars". In the 1960s, GM was the first to use turbochargers and was an early proponent of V6 engines, but quickly lost interest as the popularity of muscle cars increased. GM demonstrated gas turbine vehicles powered by kerosene, 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, 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 converters in its 1975 models. From 1978 to 1985, GM pushed the benefits of diesel engines and cylinder deactivation technologies. However, it had disastrous results due to poor durability in the Oldsmobile 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. 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 cars. In 1987, in conjunction with AeroVironment, GM built the
Sunraycer The Sunraycer was a solar-powered race car designed to compete in the World Solar Challenge, the world's first race featuring solar-powered cars. The Sunraycer was a joint collaboration between General Motors, AeroVironment, and Hughes Aircraft. ...
, 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. 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 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 (Impact) concept, a battery electric vehicle, at the LA Auto Show. 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 Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
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?'' 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 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 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 diesel engine
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 was rolled out in January 2005. Later that year, GM sold its Electro-Motive Diesel locomotive division to private equity firms Berkshire Partners 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 The Mark of Excellence is a former trademark of General Motors Corporation. It was first introduced at GM's pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. The logo consisted of the original "GM" logo with the phrase "Mark of Excellence" at the bott ...
" 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 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 ethanol fuel. 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 Global Hybrid Cooperation, formerly Advanced Hybrid System 2 (AHS2), is a set of hybrid vehicle technologies jointly developed by General Motors, Daimler, and Chrysler LLC, with BMW joining in 2005. It uses 2 or 3 planetary gearsets in an automati ...
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, Cadillac Escalade, 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. 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 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 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 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, freeing the companies of many liabilities and resulting in a new GM. Through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the United States Department of the Treasury 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). 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 The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit research organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan that conducts research, forecasts trends, develops new Methodology, methodologies, and advises on public policy. His ...
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 and Pontiac brands after failing to find a buyer for the brands, and sold Hummer to
Tengzhong Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., Ltd. is based in Chengdu, China. Sichuan Tengzhong is a privately owned company known for making a wide range of road equipment, such as bridge piers, highway construction and maintenance machinery ...
. General Motors Canada 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 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. Edward Earl Whitacre Jr. (born November 4, 1941) is the former Chairman and CEO of General Motors. He is also a former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of AT&T, previously Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC). He served as nationa ...
, who had led a restructuring of AT&T 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. 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 to resign and
Edward Whitacre Jr. Edward Earl Whitacre Jr. (born November 4, 1941) is the former Chairman and CEO of General Motors. He is also a former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of AT&T, previously Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC). He served as nationa ...
was named interim CEO. In 2010, GM acquired Americredit, a subprime lender, for $3.5 billion, which was merged into GM Financial. In November 2010, GM again became a public company via an initial public offering 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 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 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 ...
. GM delivered the first Volt in December 2010. The Chevrolet Volt 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 ( range-extended electric vehicle). General Motors built a prototype two-seat electric vehicle with
Segway Inc. Segway Inc. is a Chinese owned, formerly American manufacturer of two-wheeled personal transporters, chiefly through its Segway PT and Segway miniPro product lines. Founded by inventor Dean Kamen in 1999, the company's name is a homophone of th ...
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. 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, 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 first all-electric passenger car marketed by General Motors in the U.S. since the General Motors EV1 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 was released in the U.S. in selected markets in California and Oregon in June 2013. Retail sales began in South Korea 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, 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 ended production in 1986. Production started in late 2011 with the Chevrolet Sonic. GM ended production of the Sonic at Orion Assembly on October 19, 2020. In 2012, PSA Group 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 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 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. On January 15, 2014, Mary Barra 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 The General Motors ignition switch recalls refers to February 6, 2014 when General Motors recalled about 800,000 of its small cars due to faulty ignition switches, which could shut off the engine while the vehicle was in motion and thereby preven ...
, 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. This was GM's first investment in ride-sharing. In March 2016, General Motors acquired
Cruise A cruise is any travel on a cruise ship. Cruise or Cruises may also refer to: Tourism * Booze cruise * Music cruise * River cruise Aeronautics and aircraft * Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight * Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...
, a San Francisco 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 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 after Governor Rick Snyder signed bills legalizing the operation of autonomous vehicles. In 2017, GM introduced its Super Cruise autopilot feature into certain models of its cars. On March 6, 2017, General Motors sold its Opel and Vauxhall brands to PSA Group for $2.3 billion. On April 20, 2017, the Government of Venezuela seized the General Motors Venezolana plant in Valencia, Carabobo. 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 (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 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, Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly in Michigan 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. 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 to Lordstown Motors. In January 2020, GM announced the return of the Hummer 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 first vehicle, a pickup truck variant with over 1,000 horsepower, shipped in December 2021. On March 21, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, General Motors began assisting
Ventec Life Systems Ventec Life Systems is an American medical device company based in Bothell, Washington. History Ventec Life Systems was founded in Bothell, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, by Doug DeVries. According to the ''New York Times'', Ventec is known for ...
to produce ventilators. In April 2020, the company shut down Maven, a car-sharing service in the United States. In September 2020, GM announced a partnership with Nikola Corporation 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 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 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 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, its brand for all-electric commercial vehicles. 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 by 2040. In 2021, GM announced plans to establish an automotive battery and battery pack 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, 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, 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, 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 GM plant was officially opened on December 15, 1998, when the first Chinese-built Buick came off the assembly line. The SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile joint-venture is also selling microvans under the
Wuling Wuling may refer to: People * Xu Wuling (许武岭, born 14 September 1971), professional rower * Yu Wuling (于武陵, born 810), poet * Zhang Wuling (张武龄, 1889-1938), educator * King Wuling of Zhao (趙武靈王, 340-295 BCE), ruler of th ...
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 to that brand as an attempt to appeal to Chinese middle-class buyers looking for small and affordable cars. In August 2009, FAW-GM, a joint venture between GM and FAW Group 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 22,0 ...
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 cars,
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 vehicles, engines, and new technologies. A second phase opened in 2012. SAIC-GM-Wuling established the low-cost Baojun brand to better compete with domestic rivals, Chery Automobile, Geely Automobile and BYD Auto 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, West Java, 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 joint venture.


South Korea

In October 2011, the South Korea free trade agreement opened the South Korean auto market to American-made cars. GM owns 77.0% of its joint venture in South Korea, GM Korea, 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 was established, owned 25% by GM. It produced Ravon, Chevrolet, and Daewoo branded vehicles. This interest was sold to the Government of Uzbekistan 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. GM continues to manufacture cars for the export market from its Talegaon Dhamdhere,
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 in Thailand 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.


Egypt

GM has a long history in Egypt 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 Egyptian 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 Ca ...
have owned General Motors Egypt, 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/ Nigeria 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.


Tunisia

In 1982, GM formed Industries Mécaniques Maghrébines, which built a plant in Kairouan, Tunisia.


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, Tanzania, Malawi, 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 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 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 in 1913 through its wholly owned subsidiary, General Motors South Africa, and was a market that briefly had its own local brand, Ranger. 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. GM purchased a 49% stake in Delta in 1997 following the end of apartheid 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, 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 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-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, 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 (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, SCCA 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 (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. 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 auto racing. The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is the only entry in the series. In the past, the Pontiac Grand Prix, Buick Regal, Oldsmobile Cutlass, Chevrolet Lumina, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Chevrolet Impala, and the Chevrolet SS 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 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 and Commodore platforms raced in the Australian Touring Car Championship 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, a record 36 times between
1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...
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 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 The Mark of Excellence is a former trademark of General Motors Corporation. It was first introduced at GM's pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. The logo consisted of the original "GM" logo with the phrase "Mark of Excellence" at the bott ...
(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, until 2008 when it was overtaken by Toyota. 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, 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 in history after the Nissan Leaf (375,000) and the Tesla Model S (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—February 7, 1929 – May 3, 1937 * Alfred P. Sloan Jr.—May 3, 1937 – April 2, 1956 *
Albert Bradley Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...
—April 2, 1956 – August 31, 1958 *
Frederic G. Donner Frederic Garrett Donner (October 4, 1902 – February 28, 1987) was chairman and CEO of the General Motors Corporation from September 1, 1958, to October 31, 1967. Frederic G. Donner was born in Three Oaks Michigan, the son of an accountant, on ...
—September 1, 1958 – October 31, 1967 * James M. Roche—November 1, 1967 – December 31, 1971 *
Richard C. Gerstenberg Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...
—January 1, 1972 – November 30, 1974 * Thomas A. Murphy—December 1, 1974 – December 31, 1980 *
Roger B. Smith Roger Bonham Smith (July 12, 1925 – November 29, 2007) was the chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation from 1981 to 1990, and is widely known as the main subject of Michael Moore's 1989 documentary film ''Roger & Me''. Smith seemed t ...
—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 John Gray Smale (August 1, 1927 - November 19, 2011) was an American businessman, the chief executive (CEO) of Procter & Gamble from 1981 to 1990, and chairman of General Motors from 1992 to 1995. According to his obituary in ''The New York Times ...
—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 Labo ...
—March 30, 2009 – July 10, 2009 *
Edward Whitacre Jr. Edward Earl Whitacre Jr. (born November 4, 1941) is the former Chairman and CEO of General Motors. He is also a former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of AT&T, previously Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC). He served as nationa ...
—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 Theodore Matthew "Tim" Solso (born March 5, 1947), is an American businessman that served as the chairman of General Motors, from January 15, 2014, to January 4, 2016, where he was succeeded by General Motors CEO Mary Barra. Prior to that, Solso s ...
—January 15, 2014 – January 4, 2016 * Mary Barra—January 4, 2016 – Present


Chief Executive Officers of General Motors

Chief Executive Officers of General Motors * Alfred P. Sloan Jr.—May 10, 1923 – June 3, 1946 * Charles Erwin Wilson—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 Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...
—January 1, 1972 – November 30, 1974 * Thomas A. Murphy—December 1, 1974 – December 31, 1980 *
Roger B. Smith Roger Bonham Smith (July 12, 1925 – November 29, 2007) was the chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation from 1981 to 1990, and is widely known as the main subject of Michael Moore's 1989 documentary film ''Roger & Me''. Smith seemed t ...
—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—March 30, 2009 – December 1, 2009 *
Edward Whitacre Jr. Edward Earl Whitacre Jr. (born November 4, 1941) is the former Chairman and CEO of General Motors. He is also a former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of AT&T, previously Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC). He served as nationa ...
—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—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 for ...
, a 501(c)(3) foundation. General Motors has a close relationship with the Nature Conservancy 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 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, Richard Tyler, Anna Sui, Todd Oldham, and Mark Eisen were tasked with transforming a
Cadillac STS The Cadillac STS (Seville Touring Sedan) is a mid-sized luxury 4-door sedan manufactured and marketed by General Motors from 2004 to 2011 for the 2005 to 2011 model years. A version of the STS was sold in China as the SLS through 2013. It was ...
, Buick Riviera, GMC Yukon, Oldsmobile Bravada and Chevrolet Camaro Z28, respectively. The cars were then auctioned with the proceeds presented to the Nina Hyde Center at the Greater LA Auto Show 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 (UAW) from a collection of isolated local unions 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. 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 organi ...
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, 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 Dies may refer to: * Dies (deity), the Roman counterpart of the Greek goddess Hemera, the personification of day, daughter of Nox (Night) and Erebus (Darkness). * Albert Christoph Dies (1755–1822), German painter, composer, and biographer * Jos ...
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, Pontiacs, and Oldsmobiles, and another in Cleveland 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
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 Franklin D. Roosevelt. 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 The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...
and founder and leader of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, spoke for the UAW in those negotiations; UAW President 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 intermediary between the two groups. Governor Murphy sent in the
U.S. National Guard The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions.strike-breaker A strikebreaker (sometimes called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite a strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who were not employed by the company before the trade union dispute but hired after or during the str ...
s. 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 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 representatio ...
, also known as the "strategy strike", was an ultimately successful attempt by the
United Auto Workers Union 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) 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 The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of ...
(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)
CIO CIO may refer to: Organizations * Central Imagery Office, a predecessor of the American National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency * Central Intelligence Office, the national intelligence agency of the former Republic of Vietnam * Central Intellige ...
's United Automobile Workers (UAW), organized "320,000 hourly workers" to form a US-wide strike against the General Motors Corporation, workers used the tactic of the
sit down strike A sit-down strike is a labour strike and a form of civil disobedience in which an organized group of workers, usually employed at factories or other centralized locations, take unauthorized or illegal possession of the workplace by "sitting do ...
. 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 The 2007 General Motors Strike was a labor union strike that lasted three days from September 23 to September 25 of 2007 organized by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. The UAW were engaged in talks with General Motors (GM) to negotiate a new l ...
was a strike from September 24 to 26, 2007, by the United Auto Workers (UAW) against General Motors. On September 24, 2007, General Motors workers represented by the United Auto Workers 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 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 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, intending to dismantle streetcar systems in many cities in the United States and make buses, sold by GM, the dominant form of public transport.


Ralph Nader and the Corvair

'' Unsafe at Any Speed'' by Ralph Nader, published in 1965, is a book accusing
car manufacturers This is a list of notable automobile manufacturers with articles on Wikipedia by country. It includes companies that are in business as well as defunct manufacturers. Only companies that have articles here are included. A Algeria * SNVI ...
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 The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...
, 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 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 Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide. * Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970. * Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991. * Fo ...
, 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 John Zachary DeLorean (January 6, 1925 – March 19, 2005) was an American engineer, inventor, and executive in the U.S. automobile industry, widely known for his work at General Motors and as founder of the DeLorean Motor Company. DeLorean mana ...
asserted, in his book ''On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors'', that Nader's criticisms were valid. Journalist
David E. Davis David Evan Davis Jr. (November 7, 1930 – March 27, 2011) was an American automotive journalist and magazine publisher widely known as a contributing writer, editor and publisher at ''Car and Driver'' magazine and as the founder of ''Automobile ...
noted that despite Nader's claim that swing-axle rear suspension were dangerous,
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
, 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 The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is a defence and strategic policy think tank based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, founded by the Australian government and funded by the Australian and overseas governments, industry ...
accused at least 82 major brands, including General Motors, of being connected to forced Uyghur labor in Xinjiang.


See also

*
History of General Motors The history of General Motors (GM), one of the world's largest car and truck manufacturers, dates back more than a century and involves a vast scope of industrial activity around the world, mostly focused on motorized transportation and the engin ...
* Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers *
ASOTRECOL The Association of Injured Workers and Ex-Workers of General Motors Colmotores (ASOTRECOL) is a Colombian association whose stated goal is to protect the rights of GM workers and ex-workers and to denounce rights abuses allegedly committed by GM ...
* Crucible Industries *
EcoCAR EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge was a yearly competition from 2008 to 2011, that built on the 19-year history of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) advanced vehicle technology competitions by giving engineering students the chance to design and build a ...
* General Motors EV1 *
General Motors Hy-wire The Hy-wire (Hydrogen drive-by-wire) is a concept car from General Motors originally introduced in January 2002. The car runs on hydrogen fuel cells and uses a drive-by-wire system, meaning that the car is controlled electronically. GM asked sch ...
* General Motors Proving Grounds *
General Motors streetcar conspiracy The General Motors streetcar conspiracy refers to the convictions of General Motors (GM) and related companies that were involved in the monopolizing of the sale of buses and supplies to National City Lines (NCL) and subsidiaries, as well as to ...
* General Motors Technical Center * GM people * 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 General Motors is an innovator of automatic transmissions, introducing the Hydra-Matic in 1940. This list includes some GM transmissions. Automatic transmissions Early models The GM Hydra-Matic was a success and installed in the majority of GM ...
*
United States Council for Automotive Research United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR) is an umbrella organization for collaborative research that comprises Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Stellantis. Its goal is to further strengthen the technology base of the U.S. au ...
* VIA Motors


References


Further reading

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External links

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