GM Finds New Life with eBay; BYD Wants Green Buses 11 comments
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By Ucilia Wang
A new, trimmer General Motors (GMGMQ.PK) was born Friday, and its chief executive promises to build a nimble competitor. And, it's working with eBay (EBAY) to allow consumers to buy its new cars online.
Here are some of the fighting words from GM's CEO, Fritz Henderson, in a statement:
One thing we have learned from the last 100 days is that GM can move quickly and decisively. ... Business as usual is over at GM. Our goal is to build more of the cars, trucks, and crossovers that customers want, and to get them to market faster than ever before.
The company plans to cut the number of assembly, powertrain and stamping factories to 34 by the end of 2010 from 47 in 2008. Its workforce in the United States will shrink to 64,000 by the end of this year from 91,000 in 2008, the company said.
GM also wants a smaller network of dealers. The goal is to reduce the number to 3,600 by the end of next year from 6,000 this past spring.
Meanwhile, Bob Lutz is coming out of retirement to be in charge of product development.
GM will focus on the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC brands. The company said its plug-in hybrid-electric car, the Chevy Volt, is undergoing road testing and is set for market launch next year. It also said, briefly, that it would invest in fuel cell cars (see Will GM Abandon Hydrogen Cars?).
GM said it also plans to make battery development a "core competency," and will announce new efforts in this area later this summer.
It's also turning to eBay for a new way to peddle cars. The automaker and its dealers will be testing ways to make bidding for cars online a simpler way to buy vehicles.
By the way, the new GM is now largely owned by the U.S. government (60.8 percent), though a trust fund for United Auto Workers' retirees and the governments of Canada and Ontario also own a piece. GM keeps a 10 percent stake.
China's BYD Wants Green Bus Maker
BYD (BYDDF.PK), the battery and hybrid electric automaker that is partly owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), is using acquisition as a way to boost its lineup of alternative fuel vehicles.
The automaker is working on buying Hunan Sanxiang Bus Group for 2 billion yuan ($293 million), said the Hunan Economic Committee's website (via Reuters).
BYD leaped into spotlight last year when Berkshire Hathaway took a 10 percent stake in it (see Buffett Invests $230M in BYD). BYD is an established maker of lithium-ion batteries for consumer electronics, and entered the car business in 2003 by buying Tsinchuan Automobile Co.
GM beat out other major automakers to launch a plug-in hybrid-electric sedan to much fanfare last December. It is also developing all-electric vehicles.
Two months ago, Volkswagen said it was looking at inking a battery-supply agreement with BYD.
The world's focus on producing fewer fossil fuel cars in the future has created opportunities for new carmakers, such as Tesla Motors in the United States and Electrovaya in Toronto (see Electrovaya Debuts Low-Speed Maya-300 in Baltimore and Daimler Takes 10% Stake in Tesla, Helps With Model S Launch).
As a growing market, China has become a hub of low-emission car development as well. Last November, Shanghai-based SAIC Motor said it would set up a venture to build gas-electric hybrid and all-electric vehicles (see SAIC Accelerates in Chinese Electric-Car Market).
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Ecotality, a car-charging technology developer, said earlier this week that it had signed a letter of intent to form joint ventures with Shenzhen Goch Investment, which has agreed to invest $2 million in Ecotality. The investment firm also committed to spending $15 million to set up manufacturing and sales/marketing joint ventures.
Spain Offers Electric Car Incentives
The country known for its renewable energy subsidies plans to offer some nice deals to promote electric car driving.
Spain's industry minister, Miguel Sebastian, said the government would subsidize up to 20 percent of the cost of an electric vehicle, according to AutoblogGreen. It's setting aside about €8 million for the new program.
That means consumers can receive as much as €7,000 from the government for buying a passenger car. The incentives will range between €750 and €20,000 for motorcycles, trucks and buses.
The program also includes funding for charging stations for Madrid, Barcelona and Seville.
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This article has 11 comments:
This article is a bad collection of PR releases.
GM is not likely to be the first plug in hybrid and as priced might even fail. No reason a plug in hybrid should cost more than a similar gas car with the $7500 battery tax credit.
GM has a very bad track record on developing EV batteries and would be smarter just buying them like their recent order to Hitachi for their EV.
Ford has a better idea in farming out their EV drive and putting it in a production car like the Focus.
Tesla does seem to be doing it right and their new EV luxury sedan looks very good and have sold out of their $94k EV sportscar
BYD (BYDDF.PK), looks like a good EV play as they are doing all the right things.
''Electrovaya Debuts Low-Speed Maya-300 ' is a way overpriced 35mph joke that can't even cross an over 35mph street as it's a NEV.
General Motors Company (the "new GM") currently has no publicly traded securities. per www.gm.com/corporate/i.../
www.wwj.com/Buying-Of-...
For $3000 I can purchase a nat gas emergency generator large enough to power my home, which is way more energy then my transportation needs.
All we need is, nat gas motor, home compressor, and a 5000 psi safe fuel tank. These things already exist.
Who and what is in the way of this? And what are we waiting for?
P.S. I cannot afford to replace all those batterys or to charge them up from our coal burning utility company. My electric bill is already too high.
'
On Jul 14 06:42 AM lefty37 wrote:
> Sure wish GM or someone would produce a nat. gas vehicle with an
> affordable "phill" At todays nat.gas prices the fuel would cost
> approx. 50 cents for a gallon of gasolene equilavent. Nat gas is
> "clean", abundent, and OURS. The technology is not NEW.
> For $3000 I can purchase a nat gas emergency generator large enough
> to power my home, which is way more energy then my transportation
> needs.
> All we need is, nat gas motor, home compressor, and a 5000 psi safe
> fuel tank. These things already exist.
> Who and what is in the way of this? And what are we waiting for?
>
> P.S. I cannot afford to replace all those batterys or to charge
> them up from our coal burning utility company. My electric bill is
> already too high.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> '
On Jul 14 06:42 AM lefty37 wrote:
> Sure wish GM or someone would produce a nat. gas vehicle with an
> affordable "phill" At todays nat.gas prices the fuel would cost approx.
> 50 cents for a gallon of gasolene equilavent. Nat gas is "clean",
> abundent, and OURS. The technology is not NEW.
> For $3000 I can purchase a nat gas emergency generator large enough
> to power my home, which is way more energy then my transportation
> needs.
> All we need is, nat gas motor, home compressor, and a 5000 psi safe
> fuel tank. These things already exist.
> Who and what is in the way of this? And what are we waiting for?
>
> P.S. I cannot afford to replace all those batterys or to charge them
> up from our coal burning utility company. My electric bill is already
> too high.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> '
1. Gives GM a number of new ways to market their cars.
2. Allows people to buy cars at a price they want.
3. At least something different for a company that has taken a bold step in a long time.
There are a number of major issues I foresee, though:
1. Can GM actually end up losing money on this if people have the opportunity to bid and demand prices things too low? The company has little power here. What will be the starting prices? MSRP or lower? I can see this becoming a situation where GM suddenly realizes no one wants to pay MSRP for their products, and GM is left with their mouths agape saying ... um...
2. Is EBAY secure? I have an account and its ridiculous with what buyers can get away. What types of power does the buyer have? If they get the car and don't like it can they just complain like any other product and then get a refund. How will this work? Buyers can complain about a book having a small tear on a page and get a full refund. This should be interesting
3. The main issue, however, I see is in the long run. Imagine it is successful - does this undercut the entire dealership? Is this just a ploy to save money at the expense of the dealer? Is this just another way the car companies are looking to save money to eliminate the workforce?
I think these are some major issues that auto dealers, the American public, etc. should be considering with this plan.
David Ristau
President, The Oxen Group
Editor, The Oxen Picks Report
www.philstockworld.com.../