Autoblog

Report: GM, Opel agree to restructuring, clearing the way for German loans

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 24 May 2010 09:31:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, GM, Earnings/Financials, Opel

To the German government authorities who think General Motors is financially sound enough to pay for Opel's restructuring without loan-guarantee assistance, Opel CEO Nick Reilly says that's not the case. "You need to remember that GM is first of all founded by U.S. taxpayers," Reilly was quoted as saying. "Frankly, GM needs the money it has got."

Not surprisingly, GM has found an ally in Opel's German workers. The General has come to an agreement with the local labor heads who have agreed to forgo €1.26 billion ($1.586B U.S.) in earnings over the next four years. The deal requires that the money 'saved' be committed to developing Opel products, and if it isn't, then GM has to pay it back.

To help everyone keep track of the money and perhaps make financial assistance a more attractive option, Adam Opel AG will become a listed company. Germany hasn't given any indication of when it will declare its position on giving aid, but with 24,000 workers added to the plea and everyone unsure of how long GM can wait before it needs to take other measures, Germany will probably want to close this chapter out rather soon.

[Source: The Associated Press via Google]

Report: GM, Opel agree to restructuring, clearing the way for German loans originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 May 2010 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

German lawmakers said to oppose Opel loans, argue GM is healthy enough on its own

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:20:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, Plants/Manufacturing, GM, Earnings/Financials, Opel

General Motors isn't finished with Opel, but the German government would apparently like to be finished with General Motors. Michael Fuchs, a senior member in Angela Merkel's ruling CDU party, has reportedly declared "The discussion ... about financial aid for Opel must be ended once and for all."

This is the same Fuchs that a year ago didn't want to consider giving any money to GM before The General tried to sell Opel because he felt that the money might end up supporting GM's American operations. Now, his reasons against are because of the rise in GM's financial fortunes - trumpeting the paying off of loans (kind of), potential bank acquisitions and recent quarterly profits can have an adverse effect on loans. Germany has also been playing the role of Europe's financial guarantor as of late and is tired of being seen as a euro trough.

Opel CEO Nick Reilly says he's still waiting on word from Germany and a few other governments about aid for Opel. If GM doesn't get the $3 billion it seeks to restructure the company as it, we're guessing it will channel its inner David Copperfield and show a few countries how to make a factory and thousands of jobs disappear. The bell has rung on the next round in the saga.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

German lawmakers said to oppose Opel loans, argue GM is healthy enough on its own originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 May 2010 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Video: Ed Whitacre tells America GM has repaid U.S. loans in new ad

Zach Bowman — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:27:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Marketing/Advertising, GM, Earnings/Financials

General Motors pays its loans early - Click above to view the video after the jump

It didn't take long for General Motors to turn out an ad boasting the fact that the company was able to pay back its federal loans five years ahead of schedule. The company has rolled out a new spot featuring none other than Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre strolling through an assembly plant and addressing the American public. Whitacre even opens with the fact that he "can respect" the fact that many individuals didn't want the federal government to bailout the auto industry in the first place.

If you look close, you can spot a number of upcoming models in the background as GM's head honcho recaps some of the company's recent successes. Both the Cadillac CTS Coupe and the Chevrolet Cruze make an appearance. Whether or not this will help GM shed its unfortunate "Government Motors" nickname remains to be seen, but it certainly can't hurt. The company has an uphill battle with most buyers after infamously receiving billions of dollars from the government in an emergency effort to keep the company afloat. Hop the jump to see the spot for yourself.

[Source: GM via YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Ed Whitacre tells America GM has repaid U.S. loans in new ad

Video: Ed Whitacre tells America GM has repaid U.S. loans in new ad originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Report: GM to announce repayment of federal loans in full on Wednesday

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM, Earnings/Financials

According to The Detroit News, General Motors will announce that it is fully repaying the federal loans it received last summer from both the United States and Canadian governments. In total, General Motors will have paid back about $6.7 billion ($2 billion of which has already been returned) of the $50 billion it received from the U.S., the majority of which was recovered by acquiring a 61-percent share of the automaker.

For those keeping track of such things and assuming this report is accurate, GM will have paid the entire amount agreed upon with the U.S. Treasury a full two months earlier than anticipated. This accelerated schedule is said to be seen as good news by both the automaker and the federal government. We'd guess that this is also a sign that GM is likely still on track for an initial public offering sometime this year.

GM CEO Ed Whitacre is expected to make the announcement on Wednesday when he makes a speech at a GM plant in Kansas. Later that day, Whitacre will make his first appearance at Capitol Hill since taking over at the head of the company in January. For what it's worth, the automaker has also called a press conference on Wednesday that we'll be attending. Stay tuned.

[Source: Detroit News | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

Report: GM to announce repayment of federal loans in full on Wednesday originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

GM asking Department of Energy for $2.6 billion to build hybrids?

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:20:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Government/Legal, Green, Chevrolet, GM

Click above for high-res image gallery of the 2011 Chevy Volt

General Motors released an updated business plan to Congress on Wednesday, and one of the main points of interest surrounds the automaker's request of an additional $2.6 billion for the production of the Chevrolet Volt and two additional variants based on the same Voltec powertrain architecture.

The report doesn't spell out what the two new Volt-like models would be, but there's speculation a production model based on the Cadillac Converj concept (possibly as a 4-door sedan) might be in the works. Offering the Volt's high-tech and expensive powertrain at a Caddy-level price point makes plenty of sense as it would allow GM to subsidize the cost of its development and lower the price of production.

These funds would reportedly come from the Department of Energy's $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program and is separate from - and in addition to - the ongoing negotiations for bailout funds between General Motors, Chrysler and the U.S. government. The total amount GM has requested under the D.O.E. program now stands at $10.3 billion.

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Volt

[Source: Reuters]

GM asking Department of Energy for $2.6 billion to build hybrids? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

GM requests $16.6 billion more in Viability Plan, Saturn and Saab futures bleak

John Neff — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM, Hummer, Saab, Saturn, Earnings/Financials

General Motors has just revealed its Viability Plan that was due today to the U.S. Treasury Department under the loan agreement signed back on December 31, 2008. Just like Chrysler, GM is requesting more money than it was initially loaned due to domestic and global industry sales that were historically low in December and January. Today the company received the remainder of $13.4 billion in loans it was granted earlier, but is requesting an additional $16.6 billion to bring the total amount of money lent or available as a revolving line of credit to $30 billion.

The extra money is divided up into an immediate request for an extra $4.6 billion, another $4.5 billion to repay a revolving line of credit that's due in late 2011 and another $7.5 billion revolving line of credit if the industry experiences sales of 9.5 million units in 2009 and 11.5 million in 2010. On the plus side, GM expects to start repaying those loans in 2012 if things go according to plan.

The GM Viability Plan also addresses the fate of HUMMER, Saturn and Saab. The company says it expects to make a decision on whether to sell or phase out HUMMER by March 31. GM has also requested support from the Swedish government before it sells Saab, otherwise the quirky brand will be forced to file for bankruptcy protection in Sweden by the end of this month if an agreement isn't reached. As for Saturn, GM says it will phase out the brand at the end of its current life cycle, about three years from now. The only way Saturn might be saved is if its dealers or investors come up with a way to spin-off or sell it. Going forward, GM will mainly focus on its core brands of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC, while Pontiac will become a niche brand with fewer models.

Click here to download the complete GM Viability Plan in PDF format.

[Source: GM | Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty]

Continue reading GM requests $16.6 billion more in Viability Plan, Saturn and Saab futures bleak

GM requests $16.6 billion more in Viability Plan, Saturn and Saab futures bleak originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

GM asks Congress to kickstart its heart with ambitious plan

John Neff — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:29:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM

General Motors has just revealed the plan it has submitted to Congress today, and the details show just how far the largest U.S. automaker is willing to go in order to secure bridge loans from the federal government. The plan includes selling Saab, possibly killing Saturn and scaling back Pontiac, as well as reducing dealers and shedding more workers, among other things. Here's the breakdown...

Focus on "core brands": Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac
Launch predominately high mileage, energy-efficient cars and crossovers
Sell Saab, HUMMER
Sell or kill Saturn
Reduce Pontiac to a "niche" brand
Trim dealerships from 6,450 to 4,700
Reopen talks with UAW to cut manufacturing costs further
Reduce total workforce from 96,000 to 65-75,000
Negotiate with lenders, remove $35.6 billion in debt

To do all this, GM is asking for a total of $18 billion in loans, which is considerably more than the $10-12 billion that CEO Rick Wagoner requested in front of Congress a few weeks ago. It needs $12 billion in loans by the end of next March to make it through the rest of 2009 and another $6 billion in revolving credit if conditions don't begin to improve by then. The troubled automaker also states that it needs $4 billion by the end of this month to continue operating and intends to start repaying the loans by 2011.

In exchange for government loans, GM is also open to a government oversight board that would monitor how the money is used, as well as giving taxpayers a stake in the company. Also, not only would Rick Wagoner get his salary dropped to $1, a number of other unnamed senior execs would get pay cuts, too.

Is it all enough? Sound off in the comments after reading the official press release from GM after the jump.

[Source: GM, Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Continue reading GM asks Congress to kickstart its heart with ambitious plan

GM asks Congress to kickstart its heart with ambitious plan originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments