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General Motors Europe

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General Motors Europe
Company typeSubsidiary of
General Motors
IndustryAutomotive
FoundedApril 4, 1986
Defunct2010
SuccessorAdam Opel AG
Chevrolet Europe GmbH
HeadquartersZurich, Switzerland
Number of locations
14 manufacturing facilities in nine countries
Area served
Europe
Key people
Nick Reilly
ProductsAutomobiles
ServicesFinancial services
Number of employees
54,500 (2009)
ParentGeneral Motors Corp.
SubsidiariesAdam Opel GmbH
Vauxhall Motors UK
WebsiteGM Europe.com (removed)

General Motors Europe[1] (often abbreviated to GM Europe) was responsible for the operation of General Motors ("GM") businesses in Europe. The subsidiary was established by GM in 1986 and operated 14 production and assembly facilities in 9 countries, and employed around 54,500 people.[2] GM's core European brands are UK-based Vauxhall and Germany-based Opel, which sell much the same range of cars in different markets. It formerly owned the Swedish marque Saab until early 2010. The U.S. brands Corvette and Cadillac are imported into Europe in small quantities. After Saab was sold to Spyker, GM and its German subsidiary Opel decided to eliminate the former GM Europe organization in Zurich, Switzerland. Opel is now managed from its brand headquarters in Rüsselsheim, Germany. There are now two independent organizations in Europe: Opel AG, which includes the division Vauxhall, and Chevrolet Europe GmbH. Chevrolet is still managed and headquartered from Zurich, Switzerland.

Overview

In Europe, GM Europe operated 14 vehicle production and assembly facilities in nine countries and employed around 54,500* people. Many additional directly related jobs were provided by some 8,700 independent sales and service outlets. In 2005 GM's market share in Europe was 9.4%.

European Factories

The total number of European employees were 54,500 (as of May 2009).[3]

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[4] GM officially inaugurated GM Europe.

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.

Restructuring

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 Opel (Opel plus Vauxhall, minus Saab)[5] 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,[6][7] Opel staff 10%,[8] 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.[9]

On June 1, 2009, GM filed for bankruptcy in a court in New York. As the sale of Opel has been negotiated two days before, with the preferred bidder the Magna consortia, both companies were in effect ring-fenced from any GM asset liquidation.[10][11][12][13] Magna stated that their plans for Opel included attracting GM or third-party carmakers to build their cars and electric vehicles in Antwerp.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

GM announced that final bids were to be placed with them by July 20, which resulted in three bidders:[17]

  • 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[18]

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.[19] This was followed by RHJ International raising its bid for Opel to €300m from €275m.[20]

On 10 September 2009, GM agreed to sell a 55% stake in the German brand Opel to the Magna group with the approval of the German government.[21] 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.”[22] However, on 3 November 2009 the GM board called off the Magna deal after coming to the conclusion that Opel was crucial to GM's global strategy.[23]

With ongoing restructuring plans Opel announced the closure of its Antwerp plant in Belgium.

Sale of Saab to Spyker

Originally GM planned to sell Saab to Swedish sportscar maker Koenigsegg but the deal fell through in November 2009. On 26 January 2010 Saab was sold to Spyker Cars, forming a company now known as Swedish Automobile.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.moneyhouse.ch/u/general_motors_europe_ag_CH-020.3.910.286-3.htm
  2. ^ "2005 at a Glance". GM Europe. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  3. ^ "Fiat denies 18,000 job cuts plan". BBC News. 2009-05-06. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  4. ^ http://www.moneyhouse.ch/u/general_motors_europe_ag_CH-020.3.910.286-3.htm
  5. ^ "DETNEWS | Weblogs | Autos Blog". Apps.detnews.com. 2009-06-14. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
  6. ^ "Germany picks Magna to save Opel". BBC News. May 30, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ Weber, Tim (May 30, 2009). "Analysis: Opel's survival still at stake". BBC News. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  9. ^ "Magna says can't sell Opel cars in U.S., China". Reuters. 06-02-2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Sandler, Linda (June 1, 2009). "GM Files Bankruptcy to Spin Off More Competitive Firm (Update4)". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg LP. Retrieved June 1, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Sanger, David E. (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. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); External link in |title= (help); Missing pipe in: |title= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Sanger, David E. (May 31, 2009). "G.M. to Seek Bankruptcy and a New Start". New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
  13. ^ Maynard, Micheline (May 29, 2009). "After 93 Years, G.M. Shares Go Out on a Low Note". New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
  14. ^ "FACTBOX: Magna's plans for Opel". Reuters. 2009-05-29. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
  15. ^ Weber, Jeremy (2009-05-17). "Report: Magna considers using Opel to build cars for other brands". MotorAuthority. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  16. ^ "Koenigsegg, Norwegian investors to buy Saab-Swedish TV | Markets | Markets News". Reuters. 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  17. ^ "GM receives three bids for Opel". BBC News. 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  18. ^ "Beijing Auto fails in bid for GM's Opel". Chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  19. ^ GM 'still intends to sell Opel' BBC News. 25 August 2009
  20. ^ RHJ raises bid for carmaker Opel BBC News. 2 September 2009
  21. ^ "Opel and Vauxhall to go to Magna". BBC News. 2009-09-10. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  22. ^ Garthwaite, Josie (2009-06-02). "Magna Moves on Opel, Gears Up for Electric Car Bet". Earth2tech.com. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  23. ^ Vlasic, Bill (November 3, 2009). "G.M. Decides to Keep Opel, Its European Unit". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-11-03. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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