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Despite strong profits, GM still fighting flat market share

Looking at the progress General Motors has made since it entered bankruptcy, it's easy to forget that the company still has a long way to go before it's the juggernaut it once was. A recent report from Reuters points out that, while GM is making money, it isn't making any gains in terms of US market share. Quite the opposite, really. Consider this factoid: In 1963, nearly half of the cars sold in the United States were from Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC or Pontiac. Now, the company's US market share is stagnant at 17.9 percent. That same number is half of just Chevy's 1963 market share. This is all despite GM going on a binge replacing or updating its models. "Market share increases are not instantaneous," Mark Reuss told Reuters at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show. "We've got a lot of baggage. Don't underestimate what people though of us, or these brands, through these hardships and 30 years." The reasons for the stagnant market share are numerous. Reuters points out that retooling of factories and a focus on limiting incentives are both good things for profit, but not necessarily for market share. There's also the troubling turnover of the brand's marketing department. These issues don't change the fact that Chevrolet has lost 1.4 percent of its market share in two years, and that Cadillac - arguably GM's most improved brand overall - has lost 1.2 percent in the same period. Part of that can be blamed on GM's avoidance of fleet sales in favor of more profitable customer sales. "Our focus has really been on retail and that's where we've got the growth," said Alan Batey, GM's interim global marketing boss. "We want to grow GM and that means growing market share and profits, but it's not at all costs," Reuss said. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: paul bica - Flickr CC 2.0 Earnings/Financials Buick Cadillac GM GMC sales profits

GM's Super Bowl ad puts Will Ferrell and EVs in Netflix shows

GM is kicking off the automotive Super Bowl commercial season with EVs and Will Ferrell. The ad highlights GM's new relationship with Netflix in which the automaker's many upcoming electric cars and trucks will appear. More specifically, the ad has Will Ferrell appearing in settings from major Netflix TV movies and shows such as "Army of the Dead" and "Squid Game," talking about how there's no reason not to have EVs there. And then he also appears with EVs in shows where they don't make sense, such as "Bridgerton" and "Stranger Things," but only to reassure people that Netflix won't be shoving new cars where they don't fit in. The GM lineup on display is pretty varied, with the GMC Sierra EV, Hummer EV, Chevy Blazer EV, and Cadillac Lyriq all making appearances. Most interesting is the Chevy Silverado EV Trail Boss in the "Stranger Things" part. Chevy hasn't said much about it beyond a teaser and saying it'll be a late addition to the line. It looks pretty much like the truck in the teaser with the black plastic front fascia and fender flares. But it gets different wheels, Trail Boss badges on the rear pillars, and a gloss black roof like the RST trim. Related video: 2024 Chevy Silverado EV | 2022 Chicago Auto Show

Cadillac's 560 remaining dealers ready to take on Tesla

DETROIT — General Motors' Cadillac brand is gearing up to challenge Tesla and other rivals in the luxury electric vehicle market with a new electric utility vehicle and nearly 40% fewer U.S. dealers than it had in 2018, the brand's global chief told Reuters. Cadillac has largely completed a restructuring of its U.S. dealer network and expects to have 560 dealers by the end of this year, compared with about 920 three years ago, said Rory Harvey, head of the global Cadillac brand. GM has booked a total of $274 million in costs during 2020 and 2021 related to the effort to buy out Cadillac dealers who were not prepared to invest $200,000 to $500,000 per store in the equipment and training to support the brand's shift to an all-electric vehicle lineup, planned by 2030. Cadillac will still have more U.S. dealers than other established luxury brands, and has opened new showrooms in New York City, Beverly Hills, San Francisco and Atlanta. The marque's largest market is China, and there it has not had to restructure retail operations, Harvey said. Cadillac's sales in China were up 20% for the first nine months of the year to nearly 181,000 vehicles. In the United States, Cadillac has sold nearly 96,000 vehicles for the year through Sept. 30, up 11%. Electric vehicle leader Tesla has no franchised dealers and sells cars directly to customers. Other EV startups such as Lucid and Rivian are selling vehicles online. Cadillac has a virtual showroom called Cadillac Live, and Harvey said inquiries through the online showroom are rising. But Cadillac will continue to sell and service vehicles through dealers. Next summer, Cadillac plans to launch the first of a wave of electric vehicles, starting with a compact utility vehicle called the Lyriq. Harvey said Cadillac has received expressions of interest in the Lyriq from 216,000 people. "It far exceeded our expectations," he said. How many of those "handraisers" will turn into buyers will be key for Cadillac. Harvey said about 10% to 15% of people who show interest in an internal combustion vehicle ultimately buy one. Related video: