Friday, April 15, 2011

GM needs to aim lower

A generation ago, General Motors had a 50% market share in the U.S.

A decade ago it was still at 35%

Today, GM sells about 17% of the new cars and trucks at retail in the U.S.


GM has had some recent hits. Cadillac products are well designed, well built and sales reflect that. But a better Cadillac isn't going to significantly increase GM's share.

In order to stabilize market share GM needs better product where the volume is, at the low and mid-range of the market. Thus, it's all about Chevrolet.

Yes, it's nice to have a $62,000 CTS-V that will run circles around a BMW M5 on the Nürburgring, a $40,000 Buick that's competitive with other near-luxury sedans, and even a $75,0000 Corvette that makes Porsches run and hide. But until GM convinces the American public that the Chevy Cruze offers a significantly better experience than the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra, and Ford Focus; until the Malibu beats the Accord, Camry, Fusion and Sonata, their market share will continue to slide.

All I can say at this point is, "Good luck with that."

1 comment:

  1. Good post. I might suggest a tweak to the headline though. Where GM needs to aim is at the center. Core business always drives volume, revenue and loyalty.

    At the core is where Ford has cleaned GM's clock.

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