General Motors stops supplying cars to China
By ForGeeks American automobile corporation General Motors has notified employees and dealers in China of its decision to stop exporting cars to the Chinese market. This was reported by Reuters, citing internal sources in the company.
American automobile corporation General Motors has notified employees and dealers in China of the decision to stop exporting cars to the Chinese market.
A statement from GM’s press office said the decision was due to “significant changes in the economic environment.” As part of the strategy review, the company intends to restructure the Durant Guild division, the platform through which General Motors sold premium cars to China. In parallel, the operations of the entire GM China structure will be optimized.
A spokesman for the automaker noted that the volume of imported vehicles from the U.S. through Durant Guild accounted for less than 0.1% of GM’s total sales in the Chinese market. The company will continue to sell the bulk of its vehicle sales in China through joint ventures with China’s SAIC Corporation. GM’s headquarters in China is located in Liuzhou, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Parallel to GM, other U.S. manufacturers are taking similar steps. Last week, for example, Ford Motor said it would stop shipping its SUVs, pickup trucks and sports cars to China. The company explained its decision by increasing retaliatory duties from the Chinese authorities, which can now impose a tax of up to 150 percent on U.S.-made cars.
In the meantime, a temporary agreement between China and the U.S. to reduce trade duties came into effect on May 14. The two sides agreed to a 90-day regime, with China taxing imports of U.S. goods at 10 percent, while the U.S., despite concessions, maintained a higher rate of 30 percent on products from the PRC.
The story General Motors stops supplying cars to China was first published on ITZine.ru.
