It appears that when General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre tells his staff to jump, they ask how high. General Motors has taken great pains to save $10.7 billion from its annual costs. It has done so by reducing interest rate payments from the elimination of debt, giving the United Auto Workers Union responsibility over union retirees costs and coming up with $6.7 billion by cutting jobs, closing plants and dropping half of its brands. Whitacre has said that he is pushing for GM to have a profit in 2010. So the company has decided to use the savings to beef up its marketing and perform major vehicle upgrades.
It seems the Mr. Whitacre really has a plan and auto analysts seem to be impressed.
Trucks will be the focus of the vehicle upgrades. Identified for changes include the Sierra, Silverado, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade. These vehicles will get new styling, more efficient engines and will be made of lighter materials to help boost fuel economy.
The money will also go into developing new products like the Cadillac XTS Platinum concept car, a large luxury sedan expected in dealerships in 2013.
via Business Week
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