General Motors Europe (often abbreviated to GM Europe) is responsible for the operation of General Motors Company ("GM") businesses in Europe. The division was established by GM in 1986 and operates 11 production and assembly facilities in 8 countries, and employs around 64,500 people.[1] GM's core European brands are Germany-based Opel and UK-based Vauxhall, which sell much the same range of cars in different markets. It also owns the Swedish marque Saab. The U.S. brands Corvette, Hummer and Cadillac are imported into Europe in small quantities, and vehicles from GM's Korean subsidiary GM Daewoo are sold in Europe rebadged as Chevrolets.
Overview
In Europe, GM operates 11 vehicle production and assembly facilities in eight countries and employs around 64,500* people. Many additional directly related jobs are provided by some 8,700 independent sales and service outlets. In 2005 GM's market share in Europe was 9.4%.
European Factories
- Germany: Bochum, Eisenach, Kaiserslautern and Rüsselsheim (Opel factory), employing 25,103 workers.
- Spain: Zaragoza (Opel factory), employing 7,001 workers.
- UK: Ellesmere Port and Luton (Vauxhall factory), employing 4,279 workers.
- Sweden: Trollhattan (Saab factory), employing 3,892 workers.
- Poland: Gliwice (Opel factory), employing 3,582 workers.
- Belgium: Antwerp (Opel factory), employing 2,584 workers.
- Russia: St. Petersburg (Opel factory), employing 986 workers.
The total number of European employees is 54,500 (as of May 2009). [2]
History
General Motors entered the European market only three years after the company's foundation in 1908. This involved the construction of Chevrolet cars in Denmark in 1923 and Belgium in 1925. This involvement was greatly expanded by the acquisitions of Vauxhall in 1925 and Opel in Germany in 1929.
In 1986 GM officially inaugurated the GM Europe division.
The same year, GM bought Lotus group in England and seven years later, on 27 August 1993, GM sold the company for £30 million to owners of Bugatti. GM acquired a 50 percent stake in Saab of Sweden in 1989, taking full ownership in 2000. General Motors also developed a partnership with and acquired a stake in Fiat in 2000. GM divested its minority equity interests and dissolved the partnership in 2005, following a legal fight regarding the conditions of a put option afforded Fiat.
New GM Europe
Following the 2008 global financial crisis, and GM's plunge towards bankruptcy, on May 30, 2009, it was announced that a deal had been reached to transfer New GM Europe (Opel plus Vauxhall, minus Saab)[3] assets to a separate company, controlled by a trustee.
The deal, underwritten by the German Government, was negotiated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. GM was expected to keep a 35% minority stake in the new company,[4][5] Opel staff 10%,[6] with a plan which proposed to sell the majority of the business to one of two partners:
The new company would not be allowed to sell Opel cars in the US (permanently) and China (at least temporarily) markets, which are the two biggest markets in the world.[7]
On June 1, 2009, GM filed for bankruptcy in a court in New York. As the sale of Opel and Vauxhall had been negotiated two days before, with the preferred bidder the Magna consortia, both companies were in effect ring-fenced from any GM asset liquidation.[8][9][10][11] Magna stated that their plans for Opel included attracting GM or third-party carmakers to build their cars and electric vehicles in Antwerp.[12] If Opel needed to reduce production of its own core models then any unused capacity could be used to manufacture vehicles for other carmakers. Inside sources close to Magna revealed that some of the possible third party carmakers include Ford and PSA Peugeot Citroen.[13] However, negotiations broke down with Magna over details, particularly the sale of intellectual property rights and distribution of all future GM products in the former Soviet Union.
On June 11, 2009 a letter of intent was signed by GM to sell Saab to Koenigsegg.[14]
GM announced that final bids were to be placed with them by July 20, which resulted in three bidders:[15]
- Magna, still backed by Sberbank, had made a last-minute change to its bid in order to placate concerns about its Russian partner's influence. This would result in both partners having a 27.5% share in the new company, with GM retaining 35%
- Belgian-based investor RHJ International
- China's Beijing Automotive Industries - disqualified over "intellectual property issues" a few days later[16]
Towards the end of August 2009 there were doubts over whether a sale of Opel would actually go ahead, though a German government official later revealed that talks were continuing.[17] This was followed by RHJ International raising its bid for Opel to €300m from €275m.[18]
On 10 September 2009, GM agreed to sell a 55% stake in its Opel and Vauxhall Motors brands to the Magna group with the approval of the German government.[19] With this move, Magna Chairman Frank Stronach aims to take Magna from its current role as a parts supplier to an expanded role as a global automaker that ranks “amongst the leaders in selling and building electric cars.” [20] However, on 3 November 2009 the GM board called off the Magna deal after coming to the conclusion that Opel and Vauxhall Motors were crucial to GM's global strategy.[21]
See also
References
- ^ GM Europe: 2005 at a Glance
- ^ "Fiat denies 18,000 job cuts plan". BBC News. 2009-05-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8035420.stm. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
- ^ "DETNEWS | Weblogs | Autos Blog". Apps.detnews.com. 2009-06-14. http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/autosblog/index.php?blogid=788&source=nletter-business. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
- ^ "Germany picks Magna to save Opel". BBC News. May 30, 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8074924.stm.
- ^ Weber, Tim (May 30, 2009). "Analysis: Opel's survival still at stake". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8075157.stm.
- ^ http://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/opelmagnatreuhand100.html
- ^ "Magna says can't sell Opel cars in U.S., China". Reuters. 06-02-2009. http://www.reuters.com/article/BROKER/idUSN0229301520090602?sp=true.
- ^ Sandler, Linda; Chris Scinta, Bob Van Voris & Jeff Green (June 1, 2009). "GM Files Bankruptcy to Spin Off More Competitive Firm (Update4)". Bloomberg.com (Bloomberg LP). http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a4brqCWwvYXY. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
- ^ Sanger, David E.; Jeff Zeleny & Bill Vlasic (May 31, 2009). "G.M. to Seek Bankruptcy and a New Start: A Risky Bet to Save an Icon of American Capitalism url = http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/business/01auto.html". New York Times.
- ^ Sanger, David E. (May 31 2009). "G.M. to Seek Bankruptcy and a New Start". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/business/01auto.html. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
- ^ Maynard, Micheline (May 29, 2009). "After 93 Years, G.M. Shares Go Out on a Low Note". New York Times. http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/after-93-years-gm-shares-go-out-on-a-low-note/. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
- ^ "FACTBOX: Magna's plans for Opel". Reuters. 2009-05-29. http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUKTRE54S4GG20090529?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=10482. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
- ^ Weber, Jeremy (2009-05-17). "Report: Magna considers using Opel to build cars for other brands". MotorAuthority. http://www.motorauthority.com/report-magna-considers-using-opel-to-build-cars-for-other-brands.html. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
- ^ "Koenigsegg, Norwegian investors to buy Saab-Swedish TV | Markets | Markets News". Reuters. 2009-06-11. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSSAT00632220090611. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
- ^ "GM receives three bids for Opel". BBC News. 2009-07-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8158569.stm. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- ^ "Beijing Auto fails in bid for GM's Opel". Chinadaily.com.cn. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-07/24/content_8470602.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
- ^ GM 'still intends to sell Opel' BBC News. 25 August 2009
- ^ RHJ raises bid for carmaker Opel BBC News. 2 September 2009
- ^ "Opel and Vauxhall to go to Magna". BBC News. 2009-09-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8247971.stm. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
- ^ Garthwaite, Josie (2009-06-02). "Magna Moves on Opel, Gears Up for Electric Car Bet". Earth2tech.com. http://earth2tech.com/2009/06/02/magna-moves-on-opel-gears-up-for-electric-car-bet/. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
- ^ Vlasic, Bill (November 3, 2009). "G.M. Decides to Keep Opel, Its European Unit". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/business/global/04gm.html?hp. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
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