GM Will Rely on 4 Core Brands in the Future
- Friday Jan 30,2009 03:01 AM
- By Scott
- In Buick, Chevrolet, Financial Crisis, General Motors, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn
Fritz Henderson, GM’s COO, foresees the future of the car manufacturer relying on four car brands: Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, and Buick. The statement was done after a strategic review of the Hummer and Saab brands.
He further discloses that Pontiac will experience significant production cuts while the Saturn line will have a different loom. GM is also collaborating with the Swedish government to help the Saab brand. Around 75% of the Saab sales is in Europe so the plan will not be a US approach.
The company will push with its plans of heavily investing on the Buick brand in China. This move will have a positive effect on the brand in the United States.
The four core brands of the auto maker comprise 83% of its sales in the United States in 2008.
The plan of the GM group revolves around the price of oil being around $130-$160 per barrel. The company forecasts oil prices to be at the level of $53 per barrel in 2009. The low oil price will be a big challenge for their plug-in vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt.