At a presentation at the New York Auto Show earlier this week, General Motors announced that it will redesign, refresh, or replace roughly 90 percent of its vehicles in the North American market between 2013 and 2016 — officially announcing a product onslaught expected by many a General Motors enthusiast for quite some time.
One of the reasons behind the faster-than-usual vehicle update cycle is GM’s ability to double its rate of bringing product improvements to market during the 2013-2016 three-year timeframe versus the 2009-2012 timeframe, explained GM North America Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens.
The product offensive commences in 2013, when 39 percent of GM’s North American offerings refreshed, redesigned, or replaced, starting with the following vehicles:
- 2014 Chevrolet Silverado
- 2014 Chevrolet SS Performance Sedan
- 2014 Chevrolet Corvette
- 2014 Chevrolet Impala
- 2014 Chevrolet Camaro
- 2014 Cadillac CTS
- 2014 GMC Sierra
- 2014 Buick Regal
- 2014 Buck LaCrosse
While plans for 2015 weren’t discussed, GM did say that 2016 will bring 89 percent new or redesigned products.
GM’s presentation also touched upon its financial strategy, including the intent to cut non-production costs by six percent. A large part of the way in which that plan will be achieved is the reduction of information technology costs. The automaker is embarking on an about-turn of its IT efforts by bringing 90 percent of IT work in-house and simplifying the high-tech operations by removing duplicate or overlapping databases and applications. In the past, General Motors outsourced 90 percent of its IT needs, which resulted in a bloated and ineffective IT architecture. The in-housing strategy will see GM hire several thousand IT workers in the United States, and will allow the automaker to become more nimble and effective technologically, while bringing secondary benefits in the form of reducing costs.
And as we mentioned earlier this week, GM is looking to increase its profit margin in North America from 7.4 percent (an average over 2009-2012) to 10 percent by mid-decade. The plan is part of a larger objective spearheaded by General Motors CEO Dan Akerson to increase GM’s profit margins globally. Given the timeline for GM’s plan to boost profitability in North America, it doesn’t seem that the company’s profits will change that much in 2013, and GM communicated the same earlier this year.
However, GM’s highly-profitable North American unit should see an increase in second-quarter profit thanks to the market launches of the all-new and highly-profitable 2014 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks. The timing for the sales launch couldn’t be much better, as the vehicles will arrive at a time when the housing market picks up steam.
Of note: General Motors will release vehicle sales results for the month of March 2013 on the morning of Tuesday, April 2. Tune in to GM Authority then for our complete By The Numbers series, and more GM News.
Comments
on a somewhat related note, when are the specs on the silverado/sierras engines gonna be released? i thought it was supposed to be released at the end of march.
@camaroman101
Oh we’ve got all kinds of info on the 2014 Silverado & Sierra, including:
Tow ratings:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2013/04/2014-chevrolet-silverado-gmc-sierra-1500-trucks-rated-at-11500-pounds-max-towing-with-5-3l-v8/
Price:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2013/04/2014-chevrolet-silverado-priced-from-24585/
Fuel Economy:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2013/04/2014-chevrolet-silverado-gmc-sierra-rated-at-16-mpg-city-23-highway/
Looking good, GM 🙂
I can’t wait(but guess I will have to) to see which models go under the refresh knife next. Then, also to see what new products show up. COOL! Until then I await it all with MUCH anticipation. Thanks for the suspense, but in a good way Alex.
I hate how everyone wants Pontiac to be a FULL-ON performance brand. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with a Turbo I4 engine here and there.
They should come out with models like the:
Grand Am- Compact Sedan on AWD D2XX
Grand Prix- Mid-Size Sedan on Extended Alpha
Firebird- Coupe on Alpha
Bonneville- Sedan/Wagon on Omega
GTO- Coupe/Convertible on Extended Alpha
Engines:
VVT, SIDI and iVVL in all I4’s aa well as VVT, SIDI, iVVL and AFM in all V6’s and V8’s.
-2.0t I4 with 290HP and 320FT-LBS
-5.3L V8 with 370HP and 395FT-LBS
-3.6tt V6 with 470HP and 485FT-LBS
-6.2sc V8 with 575HP and 600FT-LBS
Transmissions:
7 Speed Manumatic with TapShift
8 Speed Manumatic with Tapshift
6 Speed Manual with SynchroRev Match
7 Speed Manual with SynchroRev Match
Please bring back the Trans -Am
What information is available for the supposed 2015 Terrain? I’ve heard alot about a redesign of the Terrain/equinox but it seems very hush hush.
The current model Terrain base I4 engine is extremely underpowered and we are hoping a newer version will come with a turbo. We need good fuel mileage and the V6 doesn’t really get it. GM is not keeping up with Ford in the mid size SUV on power —- Ford turbo’d thier smaller engines previously.
Right now we need another vehicle and I know of others in the same position, who are waiting for this Terrain redesign. If it doesn’t come out in 2015 (info on it soon) we will have to look elsewhere.
I thought the second generation Terrain was coming for 2016. The 2.4L is not a bad engine at all. 0-45 is very peppy, but like all other naturally aspirated 4 bangers, passing feels constipated. I recently went on a 2 hour trip west in a Terrain and we were cruising fine at 70mph. I think GM wants to keep very quiet about the redesigns and I don’t know why. Maybe they haven’t even gotten a start on it with all of this recall crap hounding over them. Perhaps for 2015 they could add a 2.5L with 205HP/195FT-LBS to speed it up. The Denali is very disappointing. For the next generation, I hope they bring heated/cooled front and rear seats, panoramic moonroof, HUD, and a digital guage cluster. A 2.0t would be the perfect engine for the Equinox/Terrain! Although, they could introduce a smaller and more efficient 1.8t (VVT, SIDI, and iVVL) with around the same power (250HP/285LB-FT) as the only engine option. I really would like to see an eAssist ECO model and a manual transmission make its way to the Equinox/Terrain.