GM to setup joint venture with China, Invest $293 Million

[Rocky C]

Give them a Bailout and they start supplying the China Market

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – General Motors (GM.UL) said on Sunday it has agreed to set up a light commercial vehicle production venture with major Chinese automaker FAW Group, with total investment of 2 billion yuan ($293 million).

The 50-50 joint venture, based in the northeast China city of Changchun in Jilin province, will make light-duty trucks and vans, GM said in a statement.
"For us in China, this is an important complement to the rest of our portfolio," Kevin Wale, president and managing director for GM's China operations, told reporters in a conference call.
"We are well established in passenger vehicles and mini commercial vehicles and we haven't had a presence in the truck segment. Adding a truck portfolio rounds that out."

The venture will use two existing FAW plants in Changchun and the city of Harbin, also in the northeast, with combined annual capacity of roughly 90,000 vehicles, Wale said.
A greenfield plant, currently under construction in Harbin, will add 100,000 units of capacity by the end of next year, he said.

Vehicles made at the venture will carry the FAW brand and will focus on supplying the China market, but they could be exported under a GM brand through the Detroit automaker's global network in the future, Wale said.
GM is making Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac models at its flagship China venture with SAIC Motor Corp (600104.SS). It also makes minivans, pickup trucks and the Spark compact car in a three-way tie-up with SAIC and Liuzhou Wuling Automobile.

SAIC-GM-Wuling sold 87,925 vehicles in July, up 90.7 percent from a year earlier, helped by Beijing's stimulus initiatives to support the industry, including subsidies for buyers in rural areas.
GM, which now holds 34 percent of SAIC-GM-Wuling, has been seeking to raise its stake in the venture.

Domestic media reported earlier this month that GM had secured an initial deal to take over Liuzhou Wuling Auto's 15.9 percent stake for roughly 300 million yuan ($43.9 million).
Wale reiterated the U.S. automaker's interest in raising its stake in the venture but made no further comment on the issue.

[ecfree]

Holy crap,all you GM owners ought to trade in your vehicals for Fords while you can...Take our money,give it the the chinese,so they can build these factorys and put their people to work....what a crock of horse crap....

[BR34]

GM is in the business of making money. If they can't make it here who could blame them for taking their business else where?

For the record, GM makes vehicles all over the world, including in many mid-eastern countries. This is nothing new. Hell, most of GM's vehicles sell here under brand X, in England under brand Y, in Germany under brand Z, and in the mid-east under brand XYZ.

[BR34]

Oh, and ecfree, no matter what GM does, they will always be leaps and bounds above and beyond the blue oval.

[GSEMarine94]

Oh, and ecfree, no matter what GM does, they will always be leaps and bounds above and beyond the blue oval.

Now that is funny, especially considering that Ford has had the #1 truck for about 35 years.

[BR34]

Now that is funny, especially considering that Ford has had the #1 truck for about 35 years.

All that means is that their advertising department does a great job at selling a awful product to blue bleeders. Fords are the "me too" car of Detroit.

Guy #1: I just love my car, it's totally cool, and really fast.
Guy#2: Yea? ME TOO!!! What kind of car do you have?
Guy#1: A Ford Rustang!
Guy#2: Oh my god! ME TOO!!!

Bleh..

[GSEMarine94]

All that means is that their advertising department does a great job at selling a awful product to blue bleeders. Fords are the "me too" car of Detroit.

Guy #1: I just love my car, it's totally cool, and really fast.
Guy#2: Yea? ME TOO!!! What kind of car do you have?
Guy#1: A Ford Rustang!
Guy#2: Oh my god! ME TOO!!!

Bleh..

Good thing I have never been to Detroit. I have a 2000 F-150 with over 120,000 miles and has never had a single problem, my brother-in-laws 2002 Chevy 1500 with 90,000 miles has had wiring problems that started a year and half after he bought it, and now he is starting to have transmission problems. I am the type of person that I could give a flip over what's cool, I buy a vehicle that isn't crap and from my experiences Chevy has been going down hill for the past 20 years.

[ggyoung]

to hell with gmc "government motors corp." gmc had already sold its sole to the devil by having some of its buicks made in china. We as a country had to bail there sorry butt out of financial death.

[ecfree]

My main gripe is,we're doing this in china,a country that in the near future is going to hit us hard...Lets put our auto workers back to work,I know there are union problems,but they can be worked out..Let's give back to our own country for god sake....Not a country such as Mexico or china...
It's all BS....

[Osotogary]

Reminds me of an Italian car that I bought in California that had an Italian carburator and a German Alternator and two different sizes of clutch cables, depending on which model of the same model you had...if you can believe that. Later on, when the main bearing went out I found out that the engine I had was suppose to be in cars sold only in Canada. Finally, the spare tire was installed on top of the engine and carburator. Tons of bells should have gone off but, at that time, it was the best deal out there for the price that I could afford. That was back in the early 1970's. Seems to me that "internationally built cars sold as domestic cars, with parts made globally and domestically, have been around for years. I honestly can't recall a domestically built car, within the last 40 years that was made entirely, including tires, grease, bolts, rivets, soldering etc. with American made products. Even still, the news of a GM venture with China doesn't tickle my fancy at all.
I predict that China, while growing at a phenominal rate, will do great harm to its populace and its landscape, because of lax of environmental and industrial regulations as has already been documented. No, I am not a tree hugger but I like trees and the environment. No , I am not an isolationist but I wouldn't be unhappy if Americans could become a little more self reliant, even when it comes to the manufacturing of automobiles.
Adios, for now.

[OLE SARG]

I heard that all "gm" vehicles are going to have a minature bust of abamamaturd on the hood. Boy, that will really make me want to get a "gm" 'hicle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I get sick just hearing the lying motherfvcker talk, let alone look at the ugly azzhole!!!!!!!

SEMPER FI,

[BR34]

WTF...man, some of you fu*kers are completely insane.

[Gary Hall]

That "Giant Sucking Noise" continues. Maybe GM will do for China what they did for the USA. Bye, Bye GM & good riddance. Gary Hall and Gung Ho, Chinks.

[ecfree]

Oh, and ecfree, no matter what GM does, they will always be leaps and bounds above and beyond the blue oval.

Yeah,in the junk yards of America....

[BR34]

Yeah,in the junk yards of America....

You know, I actually drive a Ford made vehicle right now (Lincoln Navigator to be exact) but there will never be anything like the GTO or Camaros I've owned. Ford vehicles just don't have any soul. Hell, the new Mustake's V8 only makes 9 hp more than the new Camaro's V6, and only 10 more than a damn Hyndai Genesis! Ford's flagship sportscar's V8 is making less power in 2009 than GMs (TransAm and Camaro) were in 1998.

Ford is just so....zzZZzz....

Sorry, I just feel asleep writing about them.