Drastic Changes Ahead at GM

GMC Yukon Hybrid

General Motors may be following the lead of other automakers in removing brands from lineup. Aside from General Motors, Ford has already ditched many of their slow selling premium brands including Jaguar and Land Rover to focus on its main Ford lineup. Likewise, GM has faced slowing sales across the board, a factor that has slowed truck inventory at Ford Orange County, and with the rising cost of gasoline more consumers are demanding affordable and fuel efficient models.

GM has been forced to close several truck and sport utility assembly plants recently and cut production back to become more in-line with consumer demand. In addition, to sales down more than 16% this year, GM’s stock has dipped below $10 – a first since 1954. Job cuts may also be an option in the near option to help save the ailing automaker.

With development, manufacturing, and other costs continuing to increase, GM has its hands full, and the selling or dissolving of at least one brand seems almost imminent. So far, Chevrolet and Cadillac are the strongest selling brands for General Motors.

Buick is perhaps one of the weakest brands in the GM lineup. This year, Buck has experienced a 21% decrease in sales. In addition, Saab continues to be a relatively low volume brand. One of the strongest brands under the GM umbrella continues to be Chevrolet, which offers vehicles such as the Chevy Cobalt and Aveo which have both picked up sales momentum at San Diego Chevrolet and other Chevy dealers. Saturn, despite introductions of new models, has also seen steep declines in sales. 

GM dealers are also concerned about the products being offered by the automaker. Many dealers are seeing flaws in the automaker's lineup, including GMC Rochester which noticed a lackluster response to newer models including the GMC Yukon Hybrid which doesn't quite give the fuel efficiency that is currently in high demand.

Executives and analytics have also suggested that Hummer may be the first brand to go. As the price of gasoline continues to rise above $4 per gallon, the Hummer lineup which includes only large sport utilities and trucks is showing weak sales and certainly doesn’t help the automaker’s image among increasingly eco-conscious consumers.

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