GM sales chief Mark LaNeve has denied news agency reports yesterday that the US treasury’s automotive task force has pressured the company to dump its GMC and Pontiac brands.
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He also denied rumours that GM planned to terminate the franchise agreements of poorly performing dealers before 1 June to accelerate its outlet consolidation plan. That’s the deadline set by the task force for the automaker to present a revised restructuring plan after earlier proposals were rejected at the end of March.
GM told the treasury on 17 February it would keep four main brands – Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC with Pontiac remaining in the fold as smaller, specialist brand. It has a history of producing sports sedans while GMC sells light trucks and SUVs, though these are mostly ‘rebadged’ Chevrolet models.
Hummer, Saab and Saturn are up for sale, or ‘strategic review’, as GM put it when the decision was announced.
The plan hasn’t changed, LaNeve told Automotive News. “They’re not pressuring us to give up on anything,” he said. “Buick and GMC are very profitable brands, and we have plans to make them even more profitable.”
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By GlobalDataReports that “GMC is going away are just unfounded, unsubstantiated and untrue,” LaNeve added.
He also was reported to have denied rumours that GM would terminate the franchise agreements of poorly performing dealers before June 1 to accelerate its dealership consolidation campaign.
He did confirm that GM would target metropolitan markets to consolidate its US dealerships, but did not have a 1 June timetable to meet.
