GM pulled out of the European market in 2017 after it offloaded its Opel and Vauxhall brands to Peugeot owner Groupe PSA for $2.2 billion. While the automaker’s Cadillac brand still has a (very) small presence in the region, along with the Corvette sports car, it has not attempted to sell mass-market vehicles in Europe in large numbers since it decided to offload Opel and Vauxhall to the French five years ago.
Speaking at the Milken Global Conference in Los Angeles last week, GM CEO Mary Barra said the automaker’s transition to electric vehicles gives it a good opportunity to grow its business by re-entering the European market with more competitive offerings.
“About five years ago, we sold our Opel business to what is now Stellantis and we have no seller’s remorse from an internal combustion business,” Barra said, as quoted by InsideEVs. “But we are looking at the growth opportunity that we have now, because we can reenter Europe as an all-EV player. I’m looking forward to that.”
Battery-electric crossover models like the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq and 2024 Chevy Equinox EV could potentially be competitive offerings in Europe, rivalling other mass-market and luxury electric crossover models like the VW ID.4 and Mercedes-Benz EQC. GM is also working on a series of smaller, affordable EVs with its technology-sharing partner Honda, which may also be appropriate vehicles for the European market.
While GM is developing new EVs that may appeal to European consumers, it could still face roadblocks with regard to its retail and service coverage. The only GM brand operating in Europe, Cadillac, has a dealer network consisting of just 20 retail storefronts and 123 aftersales partners. It would likely have to make investments in its retail footprint in Europe in order to be competitive with rival automakers like VW, which have their own strong electric vehicle portfolios, and with the added benefit of strong brand recognition and much better retail coverage.
Barra did not offer any additional details on this planned expansion, so it’s not clear when we may see the automaker begin to grow its European business.
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Comments
As I have stated for some time now, it is sad that GM left as Europe is going Full Blown BEV crazy right now.
GM could have been there to gain a huge lead jump but now it will take them some time to get back there unfortunately.
I want just Chevrolet and Cadillac in Europe. A missed opportunity but hopefully better late than never.
they left to stop bleeding money to fund the EV transition. Hard to have it both ways.
Keep telling yourself that nonsense.
Classic GM. Leave a Market then wonder why it’s nearly impossible to reestablish yourself in that market.
Hey, GM, Put the Chevrolet Silverado pickup and Chevrolet Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade full-size SUVs in Europe, So they’ll be popular in Germany, France, Sweden, Portugal, The Netherlands and Great Britain!!!!!!
I don’t see much of a market for 9,100 pound electric Hummers and Silverado EV pickup trucks in Europe where much smaller cars dominate. The electric Cadillac Lyriq is too garish for European tastes and their luxury car market is notoriously had to crack. Cadillac has tried several times in the past as have others.
Good luck to Barra; at least she’s trying to grow the company after doing nothing but shrink it during her reign. I have my reservations about whether the gm EV product mix will succeed on the continent though. It may not succeed here but it seems to be designed for here at least.
And yet you think the Mercedes’ EQ series looks good? And don’t forget about the coming BMW monstrosities.
Reality is, you’ll continue to hate on everything GM regardless of what they manufacture.
GMCFan,
I’ve never said I think the EQS looks good. I think they’re tacky too; especially the gaudy EQS Maybach SUV. You’re right that I am pretty down on gm right now. I was once their biggest fan and perhaps now I’m their harshest critic. The thing is they’ve built some beautiful concepts like Escala and Elmiraj and beautiful production Cadillacs with the very tasteful CT6 and last-gen CTS but the Lyriq is a fail and I know they could’ve done better. I think the Lyriq isn’t for me though so maybe their target demo will be wowed by all the shiny plastic and silly light shows and find it appealing.
Is the Lyriq too garish? I’d say it’s pretty restrained compared to Cadillacs offered in Europe in years past. If you’re referring to the rear, I keep hearing it looks much better in person than in photos. Maybe someone who has seen one can confirm or deny.
As for pulling out of Europe, it was the right thing to do. Being in every continent does not equal success for a business if you’re losing money. GM and now VW found that out the hard way.
IMO If anything Buick and Cadillac can be the European operations for GM, only Vette can be the only Euro Chevy available.
Why would consumers in Europe go back to GM? Last time they left Europe, customers overnight got stranded without OnStar, dealers would stop servicing Cadillacs and Chevrolets, new car warranties would be handled by third parties, and residual value of cars plummeted. I was one of those customers. We were left with a handful of dealers, hours away, who would struggle to get replacement and maintenance parts… It happened before, in the seventies, in the late nineties and then again 4-5 years ago. It’s a repeating history of selling vehicles, then dumping the customer. So why would the European customer believe this time will be different?
Remember this was a GM management business decision made by great geniuses..
MikeBelgium
As of the 1st of August 2016, GM no longer owns Opel, and has nothing to do with the brands administration. Please refer any current problems to the new owners: PSA Peugeot now part of Stellantis.
I used to own a 2014 Cadillac CTS, not an Opel. My dealership – a combined Opel-Cadillac dealer stopped servicing Cadillac after GM left Europe. The nearest next dealer was 150 Km further. Cadillac’s residual value fell dramatically by lack of dealers (there are 2 left in Belgium, one does not actively sell Cadillac but rather sells Corvettes). Replacement parts not available, etc. I wanted to buy a CT6, but even if the car was still imported in Europe in 2019 not a single dealer would be able to deliver one.
Last time I checked, Stellantis did not buy Cadillac, so I really don’t understand your reaction.
Anyway, I finished selling the CTS in 2019 and now have a BMW 840iX Gran Coupe.
MikeBelgiun,
Thanks for your insight. I don’t understand the comment from Mr. G either. It’s unfortunate how gm treated you and no doubt others in Europe who were willing to give them a chance. They clearly had no regard for their customers.
This is how Mary Barra has kept profits up to create an impression of success though. She’s left several markets entirely and many vehicle categories keeping only the most lucrative. This may seem smart but in the long-run, I don’t think it is. The European luxury brands can offer a product range and model complexity that Cadillac can’t match because their costs are amortized across a worldwide marketplace. Cadillac needed to expand their reach, not contract it.
Likewise, exiting all the entry-level categories robs the company of young, new buyers that they once relied upon to move up through their ladder of brands to eventually purchase their higher-priced models. In the years ahead when todays youth move up from their inexpensive Hyundai to a Genesis, gm might regret not offering anything for those buyers in this era.
Much like Roger B. Smith whose harm was not fully borne out for many years after his departure, Barra has likely done long-term harm to the company for sake of keeping profitability up and her bonus high.
Deja Vue just like the last 20, 30 , 40 times. Result will be just as predictable! End the GM Missmanagment farce!
… European cars are now so strange that you with your strange cars will be a success too
Dream on honey.
It was extremely short sighted of GM to abandon Europe. They could have built on there contacts their and jump right in with the right blend of vehicles. Now it’s back to catching up. Good luck beating VW let alone Tesla.
This woman constantly lies, and idiots believe her , do your damn research , stop believing her crap
GM problem is the lack of a P/R Dept. No excitement is created with any models. The Volt owners love them, but GM didn’t used it. This isn’t something new its lack of P/R for over 20 years. GM HAD A WINNER with the Impala that won many awards.
GM problem is the lack of a P/R Dept. for over 20 years No excitement is created with any models. The Volt owners love them, but GM didn’t used it. GM HAD A WINNER with the Impala that won many awards.