December 20, 2009 will be written in the books as the day OnStar acquired its first subscriber in China – Mr. Lu Jianping from Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province and his new Cadillac Seville SLS.

This marks the first truly global expansion of GM’s OnStar telematics service, is available in the United States, Canada, and certain countries in Latin America.

The Technology

We’re currently unsure what technology and carrier GM partnered with to deliver OnStar service in China (GM was not available for comment at time of publication). GM just let us know that China Telecom is the network provider in China. In the United States, GM uses Verizon’s CDMA network to deliver certain OnStar functionality.

Organizational Structure

Since GM operates through a number of partnerships with local automotive firms in China, it formed yet another Chinese joint venture to bring OnStar to market. Called Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co. Ltd., the firm is a joint venture between OnStar, LLC, (a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Company), Shanghai Automotive Industry Sales Co., Ltd (part of the SAIC Group), and Shanghai General Motors. The resulting organization became operational earlier in December.

The Features

At first, OnStar in China will be available only on Cadillac vehicles. The plan is to make the service eventually available across its full portfolio of products. All OnStar-equipped vehicles will be sold with one year of the service standard.

OnStar provides the following 14 services in China.

• Automatic Crash Response
• Emergency Services
• Automatic Airbag Response
• Vehicle Diagnostics
• On Demand Diagnostics
• Good Samaritan
• Stolen Vehicle Location
• Remote Door Unlock
• Remote Horn and Lights
• Roadside Assistance
• Hands Free Calling
• Point of Interest
• Turn-by-Turn Navigation
• Destination Download

OnStar is available across mainland China and launched in Mandarin Chinese.

Here’s GM’s full press release

PRESS RELEASE

OnStar Welcomes Its First Subscriber in China

2009-12-23

Detroit – OnStar’s global expansion became a reality this week following Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co. Ltd’s activation for its first subscriber in China. Mr. Lu Jianping from Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province received his new Cadillac Seville SLS on December 20, 2009 and became the country’s first OnStar subscriber.

“We are so pleased to have Mr. Lu Jianping as our first subscriber in China, and we welcome him to the OnStar family,” said OnStar President Walt Dorfstatter. “After years of industry-leading innovation and phenomenal growth, we are proud to provide safety, security and peace of mind across the globe.”

Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co. Ltd., a joint venture between OnStar, LLC, (a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Company), Shanghai Automotive Industry Sales Co., Ltd (part of the SAIC Group) and Shanghai General Motors (SGM), became operational earlier this month. SGM began rolling out the OnStar service on Cadillac vehicles, and will eventually make this service available on its full portfolio of products.

OnStar provides the following 14 services in China.

OnStar:

• Automatic Crash Response
• Emergency Services
• Automatic Airbag Response
• Vehicle Diagnostics
• On Demand Diagnostics
• Good Samaritan
• Stolen Vehicle Location
• Remote Door Unlock
• Remote Horn and Lights
• Roadside Assistance
• Hands Free Calling
• Point of Interest
• Turn-by-Turn Navigation
• Destination Download

SGM provides one year of OnStar as standard to customers with OnStar equipped new vehicles. The service is available throughout mainland China and was launched in Mandarin Chinese.

OnStar was formed in 1995 to help make vehicle transportation safer. OnStar is the global leader in telematics with more than 5.6 million customers and 253 million customer interactions to date. Next year, OnStar will play an important role at the SAIC-GM Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 Shanghai where visitors will see a vision for personal urban transportation in the year 2030.

About General Motors

General Motors, one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908.  With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 219,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries.  GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands:  Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling.  GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany.  GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services.  General Motors Company acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer to operations of the old General Motors Corporation.  More information on the new General Motors Company can be found at www.gm.com.

About OnStar

OnStar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors, is the leading provider of in-vehicle safety, security and communication services. OnStar is available on more than 30 MY 2010 GM models. OnStar is standard for one year on nearly all new GM retail vehicles in the United States and Canada. OnStar provides services to nearly 6 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co. Ltd., a joint venture between OnStar, LLC, Shanghai Automotive Industry Sales Co., Ltd. and Shanghai General Motors, provides services.

About Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co., Ltd.

Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co., Ltd. is a joint venture officially established by OnStar, SAISC Group and SGM. OnStar is the leading provider of in-vehicle safety, security and communication services for the main SGM models manufactured and sold in China.

# # #