For the past three years, General Motors has showcased its most iconic American-made vehicles at each edition of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) – showcasing its engineering capabilities in the world’s largest automotive market. After gauging local interest in these models, the company has just confirmed that it is establishing a new imported vehicle business in the Asian country.
GM in the 2021 China International Import Expo (CIIE)
GM’s chief executive in China revealed to local media that the automaker is establishing a new unit dedicated to the imported vehicle business in the Chinese market. This is the first time that the American company has openly confirmed its plans to resume importing high-end vehicles to China, after discreetly creating the Premium Import division at the end of last year.
“General Motors is actively preparing to build a new high-end import business in the country, which will allow popular models unveiled at CIIE to enter the Chinese market,” said GM Executive Vice President and President of GM China, Julian Blissett, in an interview.
According to the exec, the new entity dedicated to the imported vehicle business will function as an incubator within GM China and was designed to complement the company’s core business in that country. As such, it enjoys a high degree of autonomy and is a completely independent business department with the ability to quickly respond to the demands of Chinese customers in the premium vehicle segment.
“We will not have any change in our investment in the SAIC-GM joint venture. The imported vehicle business must provide a special lifestyle option. These models are in niche and segmented markets that will not generate particularly large sales, but they are highly attractive to certain customer groups,” Blissett added.
The vehicle portfolio of the new Premium Import division of GM China will be composed of typical US-market models, while putting an emphasis on fully electric propulsion such as full-size pickups and full-size SUVs, as well as high-performance cars that the company has never officially sold in the Asian country, such as the Corvette. In this sense, the first vehicle of the plan would be the all-new GMC Hummer EV presented at the 2021 CIIE.
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Comments
Exporting vehicles when they can’t meet local demand, and to a communist country to boot.
GM has “sold it’s soul to the devil” when dealing with Communist China, and while I’m sure that GM will be “making money” by any move to Communist China, the fact that GM (and any one else) is dealing with one of the most scrupulous and dangerous countries in the world whose sole purpose is take over the world! At the rate that China is “buying up the world” it won’t be long before GM and others will be importing more vehicles than they are building in America and exporting. We are witness to a really terrible way of making vast amounts of cash for certain individuals only.
Sadly GM probably is the largest auto manufacture in China, I say sadly because GM should be “exporting from the USA into China”, but the Chinese are very savvy business people and will go to great lengths to have things their way.
When dealing with Communist China there is no “middle ground”…it’ll be their way or you won’t have any dealings with them and their whole economy is set up that way…the very rich in China (and their are some VERY wealthy Chinese) know that their are dealing with a government that, like Russia is being run by a “Madman/Dictator” that controls every move and will stifle any efforts bring any form of a Democracy to that country, is they way that they operate, just look at what is going on in Russia today, the masses are not being told what is really going on…and basically it’s the same way in China, the populace is told exactly what the government wants them to know, and sadly GM (and many other businesses) seem to be “alright” having dealings with Communist China although now, not so much with Russia.
A sad state of affairs…American could overcome all this moving things to foreign countries to make an amazing amount of money, but when the “powers that be” are running your business and your only goal is make money and to hell with every logical other means of making money right in your own country putting your own people to work, whether in the Energy business or Farming, or Automotive ect. of any other business where America used to be the leader many years ago, then you’ve established an eventual demise of your business here in America as will in time give way to a total buy out by it’s foreign adversary, it’s inevitable and if you don’t believe that is possible…then just “hide and watch” because America is going through this very procedure right now. It’s a very sad state of affairs and my gut belief is that the only way that this can be stopped is if all major businesses who have major dealings with China stop this madness and keep America working and forgo the huge paychecks to the investors and CEO’s of major American companies and put the money right back into the country where it all started and progressed due to the hard working American Blue Collar Worker! God Bless ’em all.
This is the first slight of hand public relations con job from GM missmanagment. The end goal will be to “offshore” , “outsource” more production to china or AKA “Nation of GM’s and America’s future”.
Oh! wait…are you talking about the China that supports Putin in this invasion of a soverign country…..the same China that not only committed war crimes against humanity, but also supports Russia committing war crimes and killing innocent civilians……
Are you talking about the same China that said it will buy every drop of Russian oil nobody else wants so Russia can continue to fund it’s war machine, and China can use the oil to build product that they will ship to America to sell to dumb ass Americans who will gobble them up….
Are you talking about the China that plants viruses and hacks millions of Americans computers, and bank accounts, is the major player in identity theft, robo calling, and telephone scaming….
Are you talking about the same China that wants to do the same thing to Taiwan that Russia is doing to Ukraine …
If your interested….I will tell you my plan and how I avoid buying as much Chinese product as I can and avoid investing in China owned and backed companies….
Lol people ain’t happy either you export or import vehicle to China.