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GM platform plan: Needs "a well-oiled machine, culturally, managerially, financially"
GM's bold platform plan aims to reduce complexity, save billions
Rivals VW, Toyota still sorting out similar, complex goal
Ben Klayman
Paul Lienert
October 3, 2014
DETROIT (Reuters) -- It could be a defining element of CEO Mary Barra's legacy at General Motors: A drastic shift over the next 10 years from 26 global vehicle production platforms to just four by 2025, a bold stroke that could eventually save the U.S. automaker many billions of dollars in production costs.
The radical streamlining of GM's basic architectures, announced on Wednesday at a day-long investor briefing near Detroit, is intended to simplify the engineering and manufacturing of GM's future cars and trucks, while enabling the company to deliver better-differentiated designs more quickly to customers around the world.
If it succeeds, then GM will be able to save on components, tooling and other manufacturing-related expenses.
However, to get there GM faces a challenge of enormous complexity that many of its global competitors, notably Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp., already have begun and are still sorting out. The up-front cost is also staggering.
Such a massive overhaul of the development and production processes is "incredibly disruptive, expensive and painful," said Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas, and requires "a well-oiled machine, culturally, managerially and financially."
CONTINUE AT AUTONEWS.COM
GM's bold platform plan aims to reduce complexity, save billions
Rivals VW, Toyota still sorting out similar, complex goal
Ben Klayman
Paul Lienert
October 3, 2014
DETROIT (Reuters) -- It could be a defining element of CEO Mary Barra's legacy at General Motors: A drastic shift over the next 10 years from 26 global vehicle production platforms to just four by 2025, a bold stroke that could eventually save the U.S. automaker many billions of dollars in production costs.
The radical streamlining of GM's basic architectures, announced on Wednesday at a day-long investor briefing near Detroit, is intended to simplify the engineering and manufacturing of GM's future cars and trucks, while enabling the company to deliver better-differentiated designs more quickly to customers around the world.
If it succeeds, then GM will be able to save on components, tooling and other manufacturing-related expenses.
However, to get there GM faces a challenge of enormous complexity that many of its global competitors, notably Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp., already have begun and are still sorting out. The up-front cost is also staggering.
Such a massive overhaul of the development and production processes is "incredibly disruptive, expensive and painful," said Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas, and requires "a well-oiled machine, culturally, managerially and financially."
CONTINUE AT AUTONEWS.COM