General Motors resigns after taking office for 8 months. New Universal Revival Road is full of variables.
On December 2nd, a report on General Motors in the United States once again pushed new companies just out of the shadow of bankruptcy protection to the cusp of the news media. CEO Han Desheng, who just took over Wagner for only eight months, announced his resignation as the most “short-lived†CEO in GM’s history, and his divergence with the GM’s board regarding GM’s future strategy has gradually become apparent. After experiencing the failure of Saab and Opel transactions, GM has once again felt the uncertainty of the future direction, and the new crisis may come again.
Shortest-lived CEO serving only 8 months
Han Desheng, 50, became General Motors' chief executive in March this year, when the government demanded that his predecessor, Rick Wagoner, leave the company. And Han Desheng’s CEO road has been bumpy since its inception. Its first task is to be responsible for GM's bankruptcy plan, management had worried that bankruptcy will seriously affect the company's business.
The new GM after Han Desheng took office is still surprising. After undergoing bankruptcy restructuring and continuous negative growth, GM began to recover in its most important North American market in the second half of this year, and continued to acquire it in its largest overseas market, the Chinese market. victory. Han Desheng’s preliminary cost reduction and streamlined brand strategy have been initially successful, and several brands that are considered to be stumbling blocks to the new general may be sold and will also bring more cash flow to GM to ensure their need for rebirth, such as Hummer, Opel and Saab. .
However, on the occasion of Han Desheng’s ambition, Opel, who had already been priced, was suddenly taken back by the GM’s board, which deviated from Han Desheng’s original plans and wishes. The GM board also seems more hopeful that after GM emerged from the bankruptcy restructuring threshold, there will be a successor with a new perspective, not a person born with a GM logo and deeply influenced by it. Obviously, Han Desheng, who has worked at GM for 25 years, did not enter the board of directors.
Maanen Kohler, an independent automotive industry analyst in the United States, said: "The board is seeking to reorganize GM in a completely different way. They hope that the next president of GM can have a completely different perspective."
Eight months ago, Han Desheng accepted the US media’s interview on “How long can you sit in this position†on the first day of his job as CEO of General Motors. “I can't decide on this issue.†Eight months later, Han Desheng answered this question. The issue was decided, and General Motors's board of directors began to look for new options.
Do not sell Opel to provoke anger
As a spokesperson for the US automobile industry, New GM has achieved a series of successes after bankruptcy reorganization. After streamlining the dealer network, reducing vehicle production, closing production lines, and selling non-earned car brands, GM sold 177,603 vehicles in the United States in October this year, an increase of 4.1% year-on-year. This was the first year-on-year growth since January last year. .
Although the increase in sales volume is good news, GM has encountered difficulties in handling other general-purpose brands, and the sale of a series of assets such as Saturn, Puma, Opel and Saab can be said to be twists and turns.
PAG, the second-largest car dealer in the United States, originally planned to acquire the Saturn brand, but announced that it would abandon the acquisition when the transaction should come to an end at the end of September. General Motors's board later decided to phase out the Saturn brand. Last month, Sweden’s Koenigsegg Group also gave up its plan to acquire Saab, causing the Saab brand to face the fate of being shut down.
In addition, the most important difference between Han Desheng and GM’s board of directors is that the GM’s board of directors decided to stop selling its Opel plan, which surprised and surprised the global auto industry.
At present, a relatively reasonable explanation is that General Motors hopes to use Opel's compact car platform to design and develop a compact car suitable for the European market and the North American market to revitalize GM's business in Europe.
At present, the market situation seems to have shifted to a direction that is favorable to GM. If the market is to be restored in the future, the difficulty and capital investment will be greater than expected if it is reintroduced into Europe by other common products, and it will directly lead to the old rivals. Toyota and Volkswagen are in a disadvantageous position in competition and often lose out.
However, GM has retained Opel with the cost of damaging its own commercial credits, which does not mean it has made a wise choice. GM’s efforts to integrate Opel’s funds are still stretched, and GM’s recovery of Opel has been opposed by a number of countries, including the German government. Policy and financial support may be difficult to achieve in Europe, relying on the U.S. government’s several billions. As for assistance, GM is still not enough for its own use, and where Opel brands are also available.
Today, Opel does not sell, and the local Opel auto workers in Germany have started to strike. It seems that there are still many things that make the new GM headaches, and the variables are still huge.
Universal Global Confidence in China
After GM announced its bankruptcy and reorganization, the Chinese market became the most important part of its recovery path.
John Zeng, a senior market analyst at Global Insight, said that GM China is "will definitely continue to expand," because "their sales are good, the models are attractive and have great potential."
On November 20, Shanghai General Motors announced that its 2009 total car sales have exceeded 600,000 units. In addition, SAIC-GM-Wuling sold 890,000 units to SAIC-GM-Wuling in October. It has already completed sales targets of 850,000 units ahead of schedule and will approach 1 million units earlier this month.
In addition, GM also established its first light commercial vehicle company in Northeast China with FAW Group, another giant in the Chinese automotive industry, and sought to find a new breakthrough in the commercial vehicle market. Although the initial planned production capacity was only 200,000, some people familiar with the situation estimated that the new joint venture company will eventually be built as the world's largest light commercial vehicle base in accordance with the FAW and GM plans.
Although GM continues to report news in the United States and Europe, it is far from being more eye-catching of GM's actions in Asia Pacific.
Universal Joint SAIC Expands Indian Market
Last week, Shanghai Automotive Group officially announced that it will take over 1% of Shanghai General Motors' share transfer from General Motors China. After the acquisition, SAIC Motor will control its shareholding in Shanghai GM with a 51% stake. This is the first M&A vehicle company in China to break the 50:50 stake in the joint venture. This subtle change also shows the transfer of the voice of the joint venture company.
And just as the financially troubled GM has just received $134.5 million in cash from the transfer of shares, it has also been paid. SAIC and GM also announced that they set up a 50:50 joint venture in Hong Kong to form a joint venture SAIC Motor Investment Co., Ltd. to jointly operate overseas businesses. First will open up the Indian market.
Luo Ruili, executive vice president of General Motors and president of the International Operations Department, disclosed that the potential markets that SAIC and GM will jointly explore in the future include Southeast Asia. India is a start.
These two capital movements have clearly seen the industry’s ambition and strength to take the opportunity to participate more in the international market and participate in the international division of labor.
This is the second time that SAIC has been exploring overseas markets after its failure to cooperate with Ssangyong. Insiders pointed out that using GM's brand and network will be a rare advantage for SAIC to expand into overseas markets. The biggest reason for SAIC's failure to acquire Ssangyong is the lack of a truly international team.
According to reports, the two sides have conducted research on the Indian market and plan to use GM’s brand, sales network, two OEMs and one engine plant in India to produce and sell locally in India. , SAIC-GM-Wuling led the development of small and micro-car products. According to the plan, the new India company after joint venture restructuring will start business in the first quarter of next year.