Wagoner: Being #1 Is No Longer Primary Focus

[nadepalma]

You need a subscription to see the whole article unfortunately -- anyone have one to the WSJ?

GM CEO Says Being Top Seller Is No Longer Primary Focus
By Guy Chazan



ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- General Motors Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said the company was no longer fixated on being the world's No. 1 auto maker by sales volume, saying rescuing GM's finances was now a bigger priority.

"Would we like to stay number one? Sure. Is it the top priority of the company? No," he said at a press briefing in St. Petersburg. "We're really focused on very strong profitability growth and balance-sheet strength in addition to driving the revenue side."

GM has for decades been the world's largest auto maker by volume, but Japan's Toyota Motor ...

[nadepalma]

More info from Left Lane News:

Source: http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/06/...-gms-top-goal/

Wagoner: Being No. 1 no longer GM’s top goal

General Motors boss Rick Wagoner said being the world’s largest automaker is not the company’s top priority anymore, according to the Wall Street Journal. “Would we like to stay number one? Sure. Is it the top priority of the company? No,” he said at a press conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the automaker is building a new plant. “We’re really focused on very strong profitability growth and balance-sheet strength in addition to driving the revenue side.”

Recently, there has been a great deal of speculation that Toyota will soon surpass GM in terms of overall worldwide sales volume. However, Wagoner hasn’t conceded to losing the sales battle entirely. “If we can keep growing where the opportunities are to grow […] someone’s going to have to hustle pretty hard to catch up with us like that,” he said.

[mgescuro]

I'm OK with this.
Let GM get healthy first... and then start gunning for #1 again at a later date.

[nadepalma]

I have mixed feelings about this -- is it better for GM to stay on top as the world's number 1 automaker or lose the crown (arguably by being a bit smaller) and making a larger profit? Ford went through this not long ago and it seems they chose profits vs. size.

But you have to wonder, if GM were to contract in size a bit and become more nimble of a company with better balance sheets -- who's to say they might not grow out of the situation and overtake Toyota down the line? I for one would rather have profits for now and later try to regain the crown -- but that's just me.

Just thinking out loud...

[1931Chevy]

IMO their is a slim chance that GM will not loose the Crown maybe not this year, GM is building less cars in NA but around the world is making more cars so lets see what happens at the end of the year

[cfch3399]

Makes sense I guess, however, there's no need to admit it so candidly . That doesn't help GM's image.

[Vintalage]

It's no longer a primary focus because they know that losing the crown is a done deal.

[1931Chevy]

I Bet That Toyota Lovers Want To See That Day, But As Quick As Toyota Have Gone To The Top The Harder It Will Go Down

[civilzues]

Originally Posted by 1931Chevy

I Bet That Toyota Lovers Want To See That Day, But As Quick As Toyota Have Gone To The Top The Harder It Will Go Down

what goes up MUST come down, and your right, they puled this really quick moving close to #1( i say MY2009 when it happens). but when they fall, they will fall and did u read the artice about the crappy ES? WOW, i loved it. Detroit news is the best

[8>4]

Originally Posted by Vintalage

It's no longer a primary focus because they know that losing the crown is a done deal.

This is probably true and it doesn't really bother me. I would rather see them earn the title with awesome products than live off fleet sales and loyal buyers based on past success.

[Havasavana]

GM, Ford and Chrysler are all in trouble in North Amercia. The WSJ has an article today about Chrysler's woes. A major factor common to all three seems to be the relative non-competitiveness of these companies in the car market in terms of mileage and reliability, at least as they are perceived by the buying public. It isn't a matter of choice for GM; their only realistic task now is survival.

Here are some excerpts from the WSJ:

"Another sign of trouble for the company: In the first four months of the year, Chrysler's sales have been buoyed by heavy sales to rental fleets. For some models such as the Dodge Stratus sedan and Dodge Caravan minivan, about half of the vehicles sold went to rental fleets."

"Perhaps most worrying, sales of Hemi-powered cars have slackened. Last year's hit, the Hemi-equipped Chrysler 300C sedan, is now sitting on dealer lots for an average of almost three months -- about a third longer than the industry average, according to the Power Information Network, a market researcher which collects detailed sales data from dealerships. "Inventory is growing. They're piling up," said the Power Information Network's Tom Libby."

"Perhaps the key model is the completely redesigned Chrysler Sebring, a midsized sedan that has to compete with two of the industry's megasellers, Toyota Motor Corp.'s Camry and Honda Motor Co.'s Accord as well as Ford Motor Co.'s Fusion.

Mr. LaSorda is counting on the car's looks to pull customers from the Japanese brands. It also features updated engines and an advanced six-speed transmission -- components that Ford and General Motors Corp. left out in some of their recent passenger cars.

Industry analysts cautioned that the Sebring faces an uphill task.

"For these guys to get people out of Camrys and Accords, you have to knock them out. The car has to be exceptional," said Jim Sanfilippo, executive vice president at Automotive Marketing Consultants Inc. in Bloomfield Hills, Mich."

This guy Sanfilippo has a view that's interesting. The cars from the big 2.5 have to be 'exceptional', not just good. I think this means clearly better than the imports, and it'll be very hard for them to produce such cars and get the message across to the public in time to save themselves.

[69Firebird400]

Originally Posted by nadepalma

You need a subscription to see the whole article unfortunately -- anyone have one to the WSJ?

Ask and ye shall receive. This link will work for 7 days from today (until June 21) for non-subscribers: http://online.wsj.com/wsjgate?subURI...DIxMTQ5Wj.html


GM CEO Says Being Top Seller
Is No Longer Primary Focus
By GUY CHAZAN
June 13, 2006 3:01 p.m.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- General Motors Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said the company was no longer fixated on being the world's No. 1 auto maker by sales volume, saying rescuing GM's finances was now a bigger priority.

"Would we like to stay number one? Sure. Is it the top priority of the company? No," he said at a press briefing in St. Petersburg. "We're really focused on very strong profitability growth and balance-sheet strength in addition to driving the revenue side."

GM has for decades been the world's largest auto maker by volume, but Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. is steadily closing the gap.

Mr. Wagoner was speaking hours before breaking ground on a new $115 million auto plant in the southern outskirts of St. Petersburg, which is fast emerging as a hub of the Russian auto industry. Toyota is already building a plant in St. Petersburg and Nissan Motor Co. signed an agreement Tuesday to build a $200 million factory here too.

Mr. Wagoner said the fact GM had taken out capacity in the U.S. and Europe meant it would be harder to stay top dog in world-wide sales, although sales in developing markets like China and Russia were growing strongly.

He said GM is now the biggest selling auto maker in China with about 12% market share and sales growth of 75% in the first quarter of 2006. In Russia, GM sales were up more than 40% in the first five months of this year, he added.

"If we can keep growing where the opportunities are to grow ... someone's going to have to hustle pretty hard to catch up with us like that," he said.

GM has identified Russia, with its increasingly affluent middle class and its oil-fueled consumer boom, as a key growth market. "The West European market is growing 1% to 2%, at best 3% a year while this market is growing 15% to 20%," said Carl-Peter Forster, president of GM Europe.

He said 1.7 million vehicles will be sold in Russia this year, rising to three million in a couple of years. "We want to be here and we want to be a major player," he said.

Its investment in Russia comes with GM's reducing capacity in other more mature markets like the U.S. and Europe. Last month, the company proposed cutting nearly 1,000 jobs this year at its Ellesmere Port plant in the United Kingdom as it scales back production of the Opel/Vauxhall Astra. Mr. Forster said other restructuring moves were being planned, without providing details. He wouldn't comment on when GM's European operations would return to consistent profitability.

The new GM plant in Russia will begin operations in late 2008, initially producing 25,000 Chevrolet Captiva sport utility vehicles per year. GM officials said the Captiva wouldn't compete with the Chevrolet Niva, a Russian-designed SUV produced at the company's joint venture with Russia's biggest auto maker, OAO Avtovaz, in southern Russia.

The future of the partnership with Avtovaz was thrown into doubt earlier this year after the car maker was taken over by Rosoboronexport, the Russian arms-export agency. One of the first moves by the new management was to stop delivering components to the joint venture with GM over a pricing dispute, stopping the production line for several days.

[mucker15]

Originally Posted by 1931Chevy

I Bet That Toyota Lovers Want To See That Day, But As Quick As Toyota Have Gone To The Top The Harder It Will Go Down

thats true, I have already heard some quality issues exsist with the Sequia and the Avalon

[nadepalma]

Originally Posted by 69Firebird400

Ask and ye shall receive. This link will work for 7 days from today (until June 21) for non-subscribers:

Thank you, 69Firebird400! Much appreciated!

[mucker15]

This guy Sanfilippo has a view that's interesting. The cars from the big 2.5 have to be 'exceptional', not just good. I think this means clearly better than the imports, and it'll be very hard for them to produce such cars and get the message across to the public in time to save themselves.[/quote]

Hes right although build quality is much improved and there have been some very exciting new products they are not all the way there yet. I think the Camaro will help to change some minds and if they ever get the Malibu here and if its as good looking as they say it will be a smash. They need a high volume car thats a great value great on gas and affordable. I have been shopping for a new car latley I will only buy American but we get beat in the mpg department by the imports. The big three have some cars that are good on gas and much progress has been made but it think a car thats gets 35 plus (thats not an aveo) is a must. They are on the right track.