Posted on 01/20/2012 8:00:37 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Less than two years after emerging from bankruptcy,General Motors Co.has regained the title of the world's largest automaker.
GM's worldwide sales rose 7.6% to 9 million vehicles in 2011. The Detroit manufacturer last held the top spot in 2007 before it was surpassed byToyota Motor Corp.the next year.
Chevrolet, GM's flagship brand, set a record by selling nearly 4.8 million vehicles. That was more than what many entire auto companies posted in sales last year, including Nissan and Honda.
"It is an accomplishment that GM has been able to reverse the tide in the U.S. and Asia, and they are doing very well in emerging markets considering just a few years ago the company was in real challenging straights," said John F. Hoffecker, an auto industry consultant with AlixPartners.
But selling the most cars is not always an enviable position, analysts said.
"What is important is to be the healthiest, not the largest," said Thilo Koslowski, an auto analyst atGartner Inc."A competition to be the biggest of them all won't help the car industry."
GM once dominated global auto production but produced many vehicles that sold at a loss to keep production lines running and to honor union employment contracts. The automaker lost about $100 billion in the years before its 2009 bankruptcy and government bailout but has been consistently profitable since the restructuring, earning about $1.7 billion in the latest quarter.
GM has repaid $24.1 billion of the $49.5 billion in federal government aid it received. The repayments include the proceeds from the automaker's public stock offering. The government's holdings in the company's stock are worth about $10 billion based on Thursday's closing share price of $24.82.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I find this hard to believe. 0bama is cooking the books again. It is an election year. I don’t believe anything connected with the big “0” administration.
chevy sells very well in Asia and Europe, Buick is very popular in China.
The volt is an expensive flop (even with Guvmt help). I've heard their truck sales are down and Camaro sales are huge. I've heard their UAW constituents are increasingly frustrated with the lack of representation and concessions (now that they own the joint).
It seems there is conflicting info and I would like to see a report on how they are now a healthy entity. I know they've cut costs by shutting down a good number of factories in the US. They've opened some in other nations.
I don't trust this news. I would not be surprised to learn that some numbers were cooked to be able to give positive reports and boost stock value. I just don't see where their auto sales can provide enough profit (forget revenue) to repay the govmt billions and still show billions in profit.
“0bama is cooking the books again.”
Exactly. His people manage the departments that reveal the numbers, and we’ll be seeing all kinds of wonderful, but false, results for GM, jobs/unemployment, etc., from now through November. If your king tells you to lie, you’re gonna do it.
There are a number of car manufacturers who’ve built plants in China to avoid the import tariffs, Buick is one.
I find this hard to believe. 0bama is cooking the books again. It is an election year. I don’t believe anything connected with the big “0” administration.”””
I agree fully.
Do Barry the Imposter & his Union buddys get to count the value of the 4,000 ++ Chevy Volts that they ‘sold’ & which are all being recalled???
4,000 X $40,000 equals what? $160 million in sales of cars which have all been recalled????
Macy’s cannot count returns as sales.... neither can any other retail situaiton....How about GM???
Well - also consider that GM got a LOT of help from:
-Heavy subsidies from taxpayers (including government vehicle purchases)
-Federal investigation of Toyota to try to disparage their reputation for quality
-an Earthquake and Tsunami that devastated Japan and caused Toyota and other Japanese manufacturers to “pause” (Even though a lot of the Toyota vehicles are made in the US).
And I am sure there are other “behind the scenes” situations that bought these numbers forward.
I heard a “report” on the radio last night about this increase in sales and it said that GM accomplished this without the incentives of the past (rebates/special financing/etc.). Since when? All sorts of “special offers” on GM vehicles over the last year. What gives?
I will never buy a car built by Government Motors. Ever.
I see this paper glosses over some very important info that makes this very weak for GM.
-Toyota was off line because of a natural disaster.
-GM got massive fleet orders that normally would not happen unless the govt’ was pushing them, i.e.; Volts to GE and federal agencies.
Let’s see what happens when things normalize. GM is not selling any of their magic Volts in the US. A majority of sales were trucks and SUV’s. They don’t have any new ideas anyone wants.
I have read on Freerepublic and elsewhere that GM’s “channel-stuffing” has greatly increased; that is, dealers are being forced to take more and more cars, so the figures look good, but the car lots are packed with unsold cars. I think that, like the unemployment figures from the BLS and the PPT operating in the stock market, what we are seeing is a thorough preparation for the election year. What most alarms me is not Obama himself but the number of Americans involved who are willing to support his administration by helping create and maintain what they must know are expedient fictions.
This is a “cooked book” statistic .Ford and foreign producers Honda, VW etc responding to this stat are listing only their American production stats not world wide. VW claims it is the worlds largest vehicular cars & trucks producer. I believe Ford is the biggest US producer..
So maybe they can start paying taxes like the rest of us.
Pray for America
Never believe socialists and their union thugs.
I would have loved a new Camaro. I rented one, great drive, comfy, perfect instrumentation, good power, but will never buy a GM car again. So I got a Mercedes.
Thanks to China. Wonder how the UAW is doing in China?
I will buy a used Yugo before a GM car.
Let me see not having to pay share holders their money getting interest free money from the tax payers and paying minimal amount back on the principal of a loan and being able to claim a profit “REAL ROCKET SCIENCE”.
NEVER in my lifetime will I again buy a GM vehicle. Obama, the UAW and GM can choke on their products.
“I will never buy a car built by Government Motors. Ever.”
Me neither.
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