What, GM actually has the money to BUY companies? Suzuki says they want sell the whole shebang in their 50:50 joint venture in Canada to their JV partner, General Motors, says the Nikkei [sub]. That would be the end of a more than 20-year marriage.
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And so it happened. Xinhua (translation via Gasgoo) has put on the wire that General Mayhem will “transfer half of its Indian operations to SAIC Motor by setting up a 50-50 joint venture there with the Chinese partner.” As expected, “GM and SAIC have also reached an agreement to transfer 1 percent of GM’s stake in their 50-50 Shanghai car venture to SAIC.” With that little percent, SAIC has a controlling majority of the Chinese joint venture. What for?
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China and the world are waiting for a press conference to be held at 5pm local time (0900 zulu,) for which GM is promising “some important GM news,” relating to SAIC, says Reuters. Nick Reilly will take time off from restructuring Opel, and will personally host the conference.
It is widely expected that GM will cede control of the 50:50 China joint venture by selling 1 percent to SAIC. They will also most likely announce that GM will transfer half of GM’s India operations to the Chinese company. (Read More…)
If there’s a word to describe the feeling inside GM right now, it would be “nervous.” Though nobody was surprised that Fritz Henderson would leave at some point, it’s clear that his ouster was strangely timed and indicative of Ed Whitacre’s desire for rapid results. In an instant, Whitacre public image went from Iacocca-wannabe-pitchman to hard-charging Texas executive, seemingly defined by (get this) his penchant for killing rattlesnakes by pinning them with a stick and crushing their heads with a rock. So vivid is this metaphor, that according to Businesweek‘s David Welch, a number of GM executives actually offered their resignations to Whitacre immediately following the Henderson’s canning. Though Whitacre declined to let the bloodletting continue, a number of commentators now appear to believe that Whitacre wants to run GM himself. Though pay caps will be the easy excuse for not finding a new CEO, the board of director’s activism in clashing with Henderson over the Opel sale could discourage other executives from even considering the job. Moreover, Whitacre’s history of taking over companies and molding them in his image is well-established from his time at SBC/AT&T. So, will Ed Whitacre drop the pretense and the word “interim” from his title, or is he really just clearing the way for someone else?
Bowing to legislative pressure, GM and Chrysler have announced today that they will initiate reviews of the dealer cull undertaken during bankruptcy. GM is announcing a “Comprehensive Plan To Address Dealer Concerns,” while Chrysler characterizes its agreement as a “Binding Independent Review Process for Discontinued Dealers.” Both firms take pains to thank Senator Dick Durban and Rep Steny Hoyer for their leadership in preparing the non-legislative conclusion of months of bitter acrimony. Culled GM and Chrysler dealers, you know who to make your campaign donations to… unless you’re a member of the dissident group the Committee To Restore Dealer Rights. According to Automotive News [sub], the group says the new plans will only allow “between 39 and 51” culled GM dealers to be reinstated. “The GM proposal guarantees that they would win every arbitration,” says one member of the committee, who alleges that the new process is based on the same allegedly flawed data the initial cull was based on. Hit the jump for the plan outlines.
Apparently you’re not a real blog anymore unless you play some part in the giddy rush to strip Tiger Woods of any remaining shred of privacy… so as much as we’d prefer to not escalade the situation, here goes. USA Today reports that the Cadillac Escalade Tiger allegedly drove into a fire hydrant doesn’t belong to him, but is actually owned by General Motors. Huh? Didn’t GM and Tiger part ways just over a year ago? Woods’ contract with GM was originally supposed to expire this year, so perhaps Tiger was due a few perks post-contract because of its early demise. Or, maybe the Escalade was just an old-fashioned celeb loaner. Either way, maybe this will change the conventional wisdom that lending free cars to celebrities is a good decision branding-wise. Especially for firms that are going to have to use taxpayer money to pay someone to buff out those 9-iron marks.
We had been hearing for some time now that GM planned to roll out its Volt EV in limited numbers and select markets, and it comes as no surprise to hear that the first such select market will be California. The Golden State is a hotbed of support for electric vehicles and, not coincidentally, one of the more affluent car markets in the world. A number of firms, from Coda to Honda have selected California as a test-bed for their high-efficiency but not-yet-ready-for-prime-time products. In California, GM is partnering with three public utility companies, and will spend some $30m of DOE-administered stimulus money to slow-roll the Volt into reality. According to GM’s release:
As part of the research and demonstration program, Chevrolet will deliver more than 100 Volts to program participants to use in their fleets for two years. Chevrolet will also utilize OnStar telematics technology to collect vehicle performance data and driver feedback that will be reported to the DOE and used to improve customers’ experiences with the new technology.
SAIC halted trading of its stock today due to a “major asset reorganization.” According to Dow Jones Newswire, SAIC’s board will hold a meeting before Dec. 9 to discuss the asset reorganization plan. SAIC said its shares will resume trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange after it announces a detailed plan on the reorganization. While SAIC is tightlipped, Chinese media is abuzz with speculations.
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Fritz was and is an outstanding executive, and I’m very sorry to see him go. You can argue there never is a good time for any of this, but in this case, the timing is particularly inopportune… He guided General Motors through perhaps the most difficult period in its history. I think all of us were surprised and the whole General Motors team I think is genuinely saddened over what transpired
GM Marketing boss “Maximum” Bob Lutz eulogizes his erstwhile boss at the Los Angeles Auto Show [via DetN]. Historians of the Lutzian oeuvre should note that this quote represents MaxBob’s attempt at exercising “enormous skill in the non-answering of [Fritz-related] questions.”
Car guys know exactly what’s wrong with GM: car guys like them aren’t running the show. Otherwise, every Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac would look “great” (no need to be more specific) and dust the competition. Hence Bill Ford’s decision to hire Alan Mulally to take over as CEO came as a real disappointment. Obviously, he would have done better hiring anyone who truly knows and loves cars better than a Lexus-driving Boeing executive.
Sorry, CarNut4CEO. It just wasn’t so in Ford’s case. And it’s just not so in GM’s case, either.
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GM sources speaking to Bloomberg say that Ed Whitacre has told employees that he could stay in the position of CEO for as long as a year. During a 30 minute broadcast to GM’s staff, Whitacre said that the search for Fritz Henderson’s replacement could take as little as a several months, but that he was prepared to stay on as CEO for as long as a year. Whitacre reportedly also said that there were no further firings planned. [Hat Tip: Tex Lovera]
Chevrolet just pulled the wraps off the US market Cruze, not that there are any secrets left at GM these days where auto shows are concerned. Plus the Cruze has been available around the world for months already. The big news is that the interior is actually – not pulling any punches – world class. Previously only the French were able to make a cloth covered dash worth looking at, but GM has actually managed to make a press fleet-ready car with one. As long as you pick the top trim level, anyway.
The departures from GM are piling up fast. After CEO Fritz Henderson was ousted yesterday, MarketWatch reports that Opel’s CFO Marco Molinari has left the firm. This completes a gutting of GM’s financial operations, that includes the departure of GM International CFO Joe Peter, and the any-day-now departure of GM CFO Ray Young. Like the GM mothership, Opel is now without a permanent CEO and CFO. GM CEO and Chairman Ed Whitacre has a ton of hiring to do, and fast.
GM China’s sales are on a tear. November sales in China jumped 109.5 percent, Reuters reports, citing a company release. GM and its joint ventures sold 177,339 vehicles in November. As goes GM, so goes the Nation.
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