GM CEO Mary Barra is not happy with the performance of GM Brazil, as evidenced when the executive singled out the South American division in a recent conference call with financial analysts.
“We have been actively working on what we can do from a South America’s perspective specifically focusing in Brazil, and you’ll see us take even additional actions there because it’s just not acceptable the performance that we have right now,” the GM CEO explained during the recent call. “So it’s an area of key focus.”
Traditionally, General Motors has been the best-selling automaker in Brazil, with Chevrolet now recognized as the best-selling automotive brand in the market. Back in 2019, Chevrolet Brazil sales increased 10 percent, up to 475,684 units for the year. In fact, 2019 brought the brand’s highest sales volume in Brazil over the last four years, with the impressive sales performance in 2019 propelled largely by the continuing success of the Chevrolet Onix, which delivered record-setting results following the introduction of the all-new second-generation model.
Nevertheless, the first quarter of 2020 saw GM post a $400 million loss for GM International, which includes GM’s operations in every market outside North America and China. That means those numbers include GM South America, of which GM Brazil is a part. Brazil is South America’s biggest market.
GM’s Mogi das Cruzes facility in Brazil.
GM said that for the first quarter of 2020, GM International had strong year-over-year performance thanks to cost, vehicle mix, and price favorability that was more than offset by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and foreign exchange pressures.
GM CEO Mary Barra
Ultimately, Mary Barra singled out Brazil during the call. The GM CEO did not elaborate how General Motors would bring a new focus to the Brazilian market, but nevertheless, we’ll keep an eye out to see how this story develops, so make sure to subscribe to GM Authority for ongoing GM news coverage.
Comments
Pack your bags and leave like you normally do then watch someone else in 12 months make it profitable.
I’m always so confused when everyone hates on Mary, you know Gm would be in absolute shambles if it wasn’t for her right? GM has been doing some pretty damn cool things since 2014 and have has some of their most successful years. Oh right, it’s because she’s a woman so y’all are hard on her. Cool.
Tom,
Maybe some people at this site hold her gender against her. but I think that the main thing that most don’t like about her is that she’s not a car person or a people person. -She’s a numbers person(bean counter). And in the recent past and in the near future, a little more focus needs to be on the product.
She holds an Electrical Engineering Degree from GMI and started out at the Fiero Plant. Extensive time in manufacturing, including as plant manager.
Running a large corporation is all about the numbers at the top. I don’t believe she is a total bean counter. Roger Smith and “ Red Ink” Rick Wagoner were real bean counters, they took the corporation down. She understands some business is not good business and has exited unprofitable business. Let’s see where FCA and Ford end up in two years before passing judgement.
She also has an MBA from Stanford.
Regarding Ford and FCA, let’s look at their near-term product:
FORD: A new Bronco, a Bronco Sport, small pickup, Fusion crossover and an all-new Mustang in 2022.
FCA: A new Grand Cherokee 3-row, Wagoneer, and Grand Wagoneer.
GM: A half a dozen or so EVs.
Looking at the numbers, each of the products that Ford and FCA are coming out with could sell over 100K units or close to it.
I sincerely hope GM’s EV program is successful. However, I see few of these EV’s selling over 20,000 units a year.
Not everyone hates her only those who have no clue how companies are run hate here.
While the a Web CEO’s like to manage by passion and emotion they never have to pay the real bills a real CEO has to face.
Note the many haters call her a bean counter while she actually is an engineer. The fact is many of the cuts are due to the fact she is cleaning up sins committed by the pre bail out GM.
GM for decades built billion of cars but still lost money. While needed cuts were made during the bail out many more were needed to get GM profitable again. They still hold too much production capacity, they are still in markets that while they may make a small profit the money could go to other projects that make more money.
It is not enough in the auto market today just to make money but you need to maximize the return on investment or you will hold stock below $10 a share.
Look at Ford the sell millions of trucks and popular SUV models yet their stock is in the tank and they can not afford to do their own EV program fully in-house. If not for the a Ford family owning a majority of the stock someone else would have bought Ford out.
The way of automakers in the future is going to be much different. The EV is coming because they will be cheaper and easier to build, they will beat most costly testing and emissions regulations and it turns an old automaker into a high tech company.
Mary invested tons of money into technology and we are just now seeing it. This work will benefit GM products and they will sell or license it yo others like Honda and make money from competitors. GM EV tech will be like Intel in all the computers.
No this is not cool or sexy like a 700 hp car or truck but it is where the money is and will be in the future.
Honda and VW got where they are building affordable reliable cars.
GM gets their house in order and then they can do as VW and do Lambo, Bugatti, Bently and Porsche kind of thing. Models like this are add on profit not profit centers.
Sorry but Boring SUV models and trucks make all the money.
Sorry, going from the largest automaker in the world to the fifth largest is not something to be proud of. In doing so, GM lost valuable economies of scale. It is plain asinine for GM to have a platform for “emerging markets” and one for the rest of the globe. What a waste of resources and repeating of the same sins that got GM in the jam in the first place. The problem is that a GM lifer should never have been allowed to run GM for at least 20 years after the bankruptcy. Barra has learned a lot of bad habits under a lot of bad managers.
…They dropped out of that spot after 2009 when they had to close what, 4 brands because of the recession? Don’t forget that while they were on top they were making straight GARBAGE vehicles. They’ve come a hell of a long way since then, for the better. They’re still doing extremely well financially.
No, they dropped once they got rid of Opel. Opel was a place they were NOT losing money, they were robbing them. They forced Opel for years to hold the bag on engineering costs, and transferred costs from GMNA to Opel, and in so doing helped keep GMNA turn a profit. There is a reason 2 years after they sold Opel, PSA turned a profit with them. GM has always been and has become so short sighted its sad. They like to play shell games with costs and soon it will be too late. I expect China will not only “save” GM, it will BUY GM. SAIC/GM is becoming the largest part of GM and its not something talked about.
You do realize that China actually makes up a relatively small part of GM’s earnings, do you not?
Follow that and you’ll see how far off reality your theory/statement/prediction is.
Everyone hates her because GM stock performance has been awful under her leadership. She earns over 20 million a year yet GM has had negative returns since the IPO. After so many years at the helm it’s clear whatever she has done hasn’t worked for shareholders. She is touted as a great executive by the media because she is a woman and not because of her return for shareholders.
Nope, because she keeps cutting of her nose in spite of her face. GM is going to be owned by the SAIC within the Decade you can guarantee it. Ferrari outsold GM in ALL of Europe last year.. Thats how bad they are doing outside the US/China. Once FCA/PSA merger is over, and GM falls to 6th or 7th in the world.. Dodge will start eating thier lunch.. Ford is going to have the same problem too.. Both keep cutting back to be nothing but a US/Canada/Chinese company.
NOTHING LEFT TO SELL OFF , BARRA BETTER NOT WORRY ABOUT BRAZIL, INSTEAD GET A BAILOUT FROM CHINA,.
That statement only makes sense in your head.
My only issue with her is when she was hired is that she said that they would try to win in every category and not just compete. Well over the last 5 – 10 yrs, there are too many examples of vehicles not designed to be the best, but just be present in a category. If they put the effort into every car and truck like they do the Corvette, then they would be fine for the most part.
Exactly……
she is the nail in the casket !
Gotta remember, she’s a bean counter.
She is an engineer
No, she is both an engineer and a bean counter. She has an MBA from Stanford.
Why the thumbs down? Check the facts for yourself.
Oh boy, sounds like Mary is laying the groundwork to leave another market and shrink GM’s footprint even more. Roger B. Smith has to love her because everybody has lambasted him for 30 years as a terrible CEO that destroyed GM but Mary’s tenure is making ole’ Roger look pretty good.
I am a GM employee and such have to temper my comments but GM has continued to be profitable since she was appointed CEO. We have been able to make inroads in retail share where we are competitive or lead the market.
Not every decision has been popular and i would agree with the comments about our interior designs and quality. Still have room to improve.
You can cut, cut, cut your way to profit while still remaining in the game but at some point you can’t cut anymore and your shortfalls become apparent. GM has some great projects going and is making headway in certain areas but still lacking in others. They are not the only one’s, Ford is not exactly breaking market records either, GM is definitely ahead of the game right now.
“Right now” is the key. FCA and Ford have some great product coming out that GM will sorely be lacking.
Nobody is happy with Barra’s mis-managing GM
Her pay should be linked to successful product development, sales and stock performance. She’s not responsible for the coronavirus economy, but I have a hard time digesting her $26m pay for a company that hasn’t satisfied product dev, sales or stock performance for 10 years. Not because she’s a woman – I’d say the same thing if Ruess was the CEO. And cutting underperforming mkts only gets you so far.
Wow, looks like Brazil is going the same way as Europe, Africa, Australia, India. Next will be Korea. Amazing how every other American company can succeed in these markets. well done Mary Barra and your big fat salary
Are you kidding me? For the love of God, Brazil is a giant mass of miserables. Seriously, guys working at McDonald’s in America have the same purchasing power as a CEO or experienced engineer in Brazil, and prices in America are half of those in Brazil on average. All car manufacturers in Brazil are too greedy, they ask a lot of money for cars that would never sold in America.
Pay more respect for India and China, they are much richer than Brazilians on average.
Time for Barra to be walked out and replaced with a younger and less expensive CEO.
does this madwoman know anything? She needs to see a North American problem where today a lot of people are dying there, and certainly the United States is not selling anything more with this pamdemy, she should hit her mouth a thousand times, than talking about BRasil.
Walk a mile in her shoes boys ……
Sure, just not the leather jacket!
Mary needs to focus USA car market..brazil.is small dimes..lead.us to a battery or hybrid mix car and now. Not 2025…Kia market is strong.for the money and s.korea.makes a good small car…Gm.needs to focus less on tank suvs..and 60k trucks..make decent intermediate. Vehicles..overseas..Gm.needs good car ventures.with hundai.austrailia and south ametica…make a decent small pickup truck.for 17k…I can’t stand the 38k average per vehicle..ratio..cost per vehicle is way out of range..points to excessive labor cost.per platform. Excess overtime.per units..not good management..too many caddy people in charge..r
There are only 3 ways to generate a profit. Increase Sales, increase Gross or reduce Expenses. Bloody Mary will continue to do what she has always done and that is to reduce expenses so sianara Brazil . It’s inevitable as it’s simply another case of General Motors not having executive talent capable of turning operations around. Brazil will join the ranks of China, Australia, India etc etc.
For the love of God please fire this woman! She has literally destroyed the GM company that we so loved.
Miss Barra should pay attention to Cadillac ,this panick electrification without a proper fast charging infrastructure dooms Cadillac . GM. Needs higher quality lower competitive prices.
Why the surprise? GM cars in Brazil(as any brand, Fiat as well) cost an awful lot more than in the US in a country of comparable size but 1/6 of the income at least. Coronavirus is just another crisis amid another two ones, and Brazil yet has to recover from the 2014/2015 crisis, so, sales will drop even more. Cars sold in Brazil are more expensive than the ones sold in America and are so stripped that Yankees would not buy them for more than 7 grand new! You cannot buy a 10 year old car in good shape for $4,000 here. And forget completely about hybrid or electric cars. They’ll cost well over $60,000 here.
If General Motors want’s 2 attain a higher profit: Marry Barra: GM CEO needs to take a /pay cut\ {since her gross pay was $21.9 Million} ( In My opinion: her salary is choking gm’s profits) & put some of marry’s portfolio into her Branding Company’s overall down-turn to be more open to what “[PEOPLE]” want from GM automobiles: “2 GET THE MOST OUT OF ALL VEHICLE DESIGNS @ THE DRAWING BOARD 2 GAIN A CUSTOMER’S PERSPECTIVE” SO THAT (GM BRANDS) “DON’T” [DIE] BECAUSE OF A >CEO’S AGENDA< !?????…….
Mary is the back bone of GM and she is and has accomplished so much, it’s Not her fault the economy is damaged by the Coronavirus and sales of GM cars and trucks and SUVs will gain
Traction again once people feel safe and the economy turns around because the American people Love GM and it’s a great company that is current on technology and they have the best proven brand that lasts for years.
The lost overseas markets occured long before COVID19 surfaced so no, she doesn’t get to use that as an excuse for GM’s dismal position Globally. For 23 million, we should expect more and shld see 23 million worth of value that we don’t see. She has in essence destroyed the American Automobile Industry and it may never recover from her reign. She has forsaken any social responsibilities the corporation had towards it’s founding market who supported it through ages. I don’t recall hearing Mexico handing billions of bailout dollars to GM when they needed it but Mexico got the rewards while Mary screwed her American supporters with a big fat F… Y..!
I am sorry but I disagree. GM’s global market issues started long before COVID19 became known so she doesn’t get a Mulligan and use that excuse. I don’t see her building traction once this pandemic is behind us and managed. She hurt too many people shuttering US and Canadian plants. People won’t forget the bailouts she recieved only to abandon the country that stood behind her for her on turn to reward Mexico. How much did you say Mexico gave her in bailout funds???
For $23 million we have every right to expect more from her; $23 million worth of solutions.
You have to remember that GM operates on 5 year business plans so shuttering those plants had been on the table long before it took place. She was very deceptive, not savvy, with not disclosing her intentions.
GM hasn’t been on ‘top’ since the 70’s. There has been a steady decline in market share since then and now they are a 10% market share company, not a growing 10% market share but a diminishing 10%. If this keeps up their Executives will be able to wear 1% patches on their ‘cuts.’Wasnt Toyota and Honda around in those recession years? But gee, they grew!
Just look at Cadillac one blunder after another ,that last guy ran it to the ground . I wrote a letter to Miss Barra while they were still on time waste of time . Cadillac was wasted too.
And that goes back to my very first point. They simply don’t have the talent to turn the company around. It starts with their HRM process where they fast track somebody after 6 months in a job and on to the next for 6 months etc etc. Every person I’ve seen get processed I simply asked … What have they done? Just tell me 1 thing they’ve fone. You get told things like great guy, what a golfer or dam good on his feet or everybody likes him, a real people person but you will never hear what they done. They fill the upper echelons with smiling back slapping team playing incompetent people. And that is why the blunders keep coming.
college does NOT mean everything she has pissed off GM buyers
After 2020 GM will not have a single all around vehicle that I would want to buy even though I have a passing interest in a Camaro convertible but it looks like even that will be gone in a few short years. I would never have said that anytime in the past 32 years of my driving life! Even bloody FCA seems to have more focus and offers a few vehicles that I would consider. Too bad Mary but you are losing customers in droves. Some can continue to put their head in the sand but the facts are this company keeps shrinking, offering less and less product choice and is really making themselves look incompetent!
My sentiments exactly, I have always been a gm fan, with a few fords along the way as well, last December after looking long and hard at the gm range and just nothing of any real inspiration for my money so I ended up buying a Tesla. I am 100% sure the Hummer project will scrapped next and conveniently blamed on corona virus.
So when the Hummer EV launches, will you come back to comment that you were wrong?
Sure, and happy to buy you a steak dinner if I am wrong
I highly doubt it will be scrapped, however will it sell to where it is worth the investment is the real question.
It’s always the same: when objective conditions cause the decline of an organisation, company, or even a country, people tend to put the blame on the leading personel instead of considering the material causes.