GM’s overseas operations have long been touted as the only part of the General that is worth actual money. But might it make sense for GM to sell of profitable foreign operations? Though it’s doubtful that GM would ever voluntarily spin off, say, Buick and sell it to a Chinese firm, Charles Child has a column in Automotive News [sub] suggesting lawmakers should consider making such an asset sale a condition to further bailout cash. Child suggests that a sale of Buick to Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) makes lots of sense, cutting the number of US brands, and putting cash in the General’s pocket. How much? Based on Jag/Land Rover’s recent price tag of $2.3b, Child guesses Buick could be worth a billion to SAIC. Sure, The JagRover sale happened before credit markets took a dirt nap, but hell, GM could even use thre-quarters of that much cash right now. Plus the US market needs the Buick brand like it needs another run on the banks. Child’s analysis is thorough and compelling, and his thesis is well summarized in the final two sentences of his piece.”In today’s crisis, creative solutions are imperative. Nowadays, nothing is sacred in Detroit.” Truer words were never spoken.
One billion USD will not cover GM expenses even for one month. Probably good idea however to sell Buick. GM can’t bring money out of China (of course they do barter by getting back parts on Chinese generated profit). Since there is less and less chance that Chinese cars will see US market in near future, it sounds beneficial to minimize bleeding by one of the divisions by amputating in.
^^How are they just going to “sell” Buick right off the bat? Who would buy it now? The Chinese firms are still crawling and need manufacturing and research support. What they don’t need is a brand name to add to the confusion.
It’s simple: make Buick a China-only brand and kill it off in North America. Transfer Tiger Woods over to Cadillac in NA and leave him shilling Buick ads in China only.
Easier said than done…but logical.
Selling Buick is a great idea. It has a presence overseas – if only in China, but that gives it a value vs a US only brand like Pontiac or GMC. GM could license the current designs to the new owners for 10 years, and throw in a US factory or 2. Then the BPG dealers could really see the writing on the wall and close up. Sell Saab, dump Hummer and your there!!
A billion would buy a lot of 6-speed slushboxes, but the bigger concern is “What of Tiger?”
Caddy has been actively trying to shed it’s “country club” image, ultimately shoughing it off to Buick/Tiger Woods – they don’t want it back.
Nice Photo, BTW.
Have you guys ever walked the streets of Shanghai, Beijing or Nanjing? Buick does not have much of a presence at all in China – and the one little Buick you sometimes see is an Opel…
Well…as I have been boosting this idea for months I obviously vote “yea”.
My thinking is that Buick USA is only a negative.
Drain on reasources for product, more plant cap they don’t need, ad budget and dealers to feed.
If they can get anything like enough from China to buy out the dealers and buy off the UAW-take the money and do it!
Bunter
The idea has merit, but why bother making tough business decisions like this when the Peoples Republic of America will bankroll you with taxpayers money? American companies, like America in general, are following in the footsteps of the worlds once dominant empire, England. Unprofitable government financed mergers, unsustainable global control and people who to this day still believe their rightful place is at the head of the table. But I digress, sell Buick.
Robbie: That was not my impression a year ago. In Beijing Buick was the second most common “bureaucratmobile” after the Audi A6L… saw a ton in Shanghai too.
On the quantitative front, Child says “Last year, GM sold 185,791 Buicks in the United States and 331,780 in China.” There it is.
That’s the first 7′ tall Chinese woman I ever saw.
Almost all the buicks sold in china are actually rebadged Daweoo, Holdens or Opels. So selling the “brand” to the Chinese doesn’t really do much. A billion dollars wouldn’t even cover the costs of shutting down the US dealers and idling the assembly workers here.
Just sell all of GM to the Chinese, shut down all NA operations, and you’ve got yourself a decent car company.
Before a member of the public goes on welfare, they have to show that they do not have any disposable assets. It seems GM still has some assets they haven’t sold yet.
I lived in the outskirts of Shenzhen for a year and saw tons of Buicks. At the time (2002-2003), they were mostly based off of US Cars…the US-spec Buick Regal and the Buick GL8 minivan (essentially the GM minivan–Uplander/Relay/Terazza/Montana/TransSport/Venture/Lumina van). I rode in both models and they were exactly like what you would see here during the time, except the Terazza hadn’t been born yet. I was there when the Buick Sail came out, which was the first non-us Buick–based off the Opel Corsa.
Since then my understanding is that Buick in China has taken over the Regal and done the development themselves; the GL8 is gone, and everything else is an Opel/Holden/Daewoo.