Early history

Under the leadership of William C. Durant, the General Motors

Company was founded in 1908 to consolidate
several motorcar companies producing Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac,
Oakland (later Pontiac), Ewing, Marquette, and other autos as well
as Reliance and Rapid trucks. GM introduced the electric self-
starter commercially in its 1912 Cadillac, and this invention soon
made the hand crank obsolete. GM remained based in Detroit and
was reincorporated and named General Motors Corporation in
1916. The Chevrolet auto company and Delco Products joined GM in
1918, and the Fisher Body Company and Frigidaire joined in 1919
(the latter was sold in 1979).

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automotive industry: General Motors

General Motors  Corporation (GM), which ultimately became the world’s largest

automotive firm and the largest privately...

Durant was forced out of the company in 1920 and was succeeded
by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., who served as president (1923–37) and then
as chairman of the board of directors (1937–56). Sloan reorganized
GM from a sprawling, uncoordinated collection of business units
into a single enterprise consisting of five main automotive divisions
—Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Chevrolet—the activities
of which were coordinated by a central corporate office equipped
with large advisory and financial staffs. The various operating
divisions retained a substantial degree of autonomy within a
framework of overall policy; this decentralized concept of
management became a model for large-scale industrial enterprises
in the United States. Sloan also greatly strengthened GM’s sales
organization, pioneered annual style changes in car models, and
introduced innovations in consumer financing.
Global expansion
By 1929 General Motors had surpassed the Ford Motor Company to
become the leading American passenger-car manufacturer. It added
overseas operations, including Vauxhall of England in 1925, Adam
Opel of Germany in 1929, and Holden of Australia in 1931. The
Yellow Truck & Coach Manufacturing Co. (now GMC Truck & Coach
Division), organized in 1925, was among the new American
divisions and subsidiaries established. In 1931 GM became the
world’s largest manufacturer of motor vehicles. By 1941 it was
making 44 percent of all the cars in the United States and had
become one of the largest industrial corporations in the world.
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General Motors grew along with the American economy in the

1950s and ’60s and continued to hold 40–45 percent of total U.S.
automotive sales. It bought Electronic Data Systems Corporation, a
large data-processing company, in 1984 and acquired the Hughes
Aircraft Company, a maker of weapons systems and
communications satellites, in 1986.

Along with other U.S. automobile manufacturers, the company

faced increasingly severe competition from Japanese automakers in
the 1970s and ’80s, and in 1984 GM began a new automotive
division, Saturn, that used highly automated plants to produce
subcompact cars to compete with Japanese imports. While GM’s
modernization efforts showed some success, heavy losses in the
early 1990s forced the company to close many plants and reduce its
workforce by tens of thousands.

Like other American automakers, however, GM made

a robust recovery by the middle of the decade and returned its focus
to its automotive businesses. It sold Electronic Data Systems in
1996, and in 1997 it sold the defense units of its Hughes Electronics
subsidiary to the Raytheon Company, thus leaving the computer-
services and defense-aerospace fields in order to concentrate on its
automotive businesses. General Motors became the sole owner
of Saab Automobile AB in 2000. By the early 21st century GM
had equity shares in a number of car companies, including Fiat,
Isuzu, Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru), and Suzuki. In 2004,
however, it discontinued the Oldsmobile brand. Four years later GM
was surpassed by Toyota Motor Corporation as the world’s largest
automaker.

During this time GM also sought to decrease its financial service

holdings through various deals concerning General Motors
Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) and its related divisions. GMAC
had been founded in 1919 to finance and insure the installment
sales of GM products and had later expanded into other businesses.
In 2006 GM sold a 51 percent stake in GMAC to Cerberus Capital
Management, and GMAC was later renamed Ally Financial. In
addition, GMAC’s mortgage and real estate units were subsequently
sold.
TARP, Chapter 11, and recovery
In December 2008 Pres. George W. Bush announced an emergency
financial rescue plan to aid the “Big Three” automakers—Chrysler
LLC, General Motors, and Ford—to prevent the collapse of the
country’s struggling auto industry. The plan made immediately
available $13.4 billion in government loans from the Troubled
Assets Relief Program (TARP), a $700 billion fund approved by
Congress to aid the financial industry following the subprime
mortgage crisis. The loans would allow the auto companies to
continue operating through March 2009, by which time the plan
required them to demonstrate “financial viability” or return the
money within 30 days. An additional stipulation required the
companies to undergo restructuring. The money was initially made
available to General Motors and Chrysler; Ford claimed to possess
adequate funds to continue operations and thus did not apply for
government relief. As its financial troubles mounted—the company
claimed to be some $173 billion in debt—GM filed for Chapter
11 bankruptcy protection in June 2009. It emerged from bankruptcy
reorganization the following month. In 2010 the company officially
discontinued both the Pontiac and Saturn brands and sold Saab.
The downsizing left GM with four vehicle divisions: Buick, Cadillac,
Chevrolet, and GMC. In November 2010 GM returned to the stock
market with one of the largest IPOs in U.S. history. The following
year GM regained its title as the largest automaker in the world.

However, GM’s strong rebound faced a setback in 2014, when it was

revealed that for about a decade the company had covered up the
fact that several car models had faulty ignition switches; it was
believed that the defective part had caused more than 120 deaths.
The company’s handling of the scandal—which was overseen by
Mary Barra, GM’s first female CEO—was widely praised, and GM
posted strong earnings, with record sales in 2014–16. However, its
European division continued to struggle, and in 2017 GM sold Opel
and Vauxhall to the PSA Group, the French manufacturer of
Peugeot and Citroën automobiles. The move, which was valued at
more than $2 billion, was seen as effectively ending GM’s European
operations.
General Motors: Mary Barra
GM executive Mary Barra at the 2012 Detroit auto show.
Bill Pugliano—Getty Images/Thinkstock
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Amy
Tikkanen.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:


automotive industry: General Motors

General Motors Corporation (GM), which ultimately became the world’s largest

automotive firm and the largest privately owned manufacturing enterprise in the world,
was founded in 1908 by William C. Durant, a carriage manufacturer of Flint, Michigan.
In 1904 he assumed control of the…

United States: Deepwater Horizon oil spill

…initiatives, the financial rescue of General Motors, bore fruit as the automaker
recorded its first profits in three years. In general, the U.S. economy seemed to be
rebounding—if slowly. However, as the summer approached, unemployment stagnated at
near 10 percent. Although the Republicans and some economists criticized the economic
stimulus…
 

United States: The culmination of the New Deal

…after a long sit-down strike, General Motors, the country’s mightiest corporation,

recognized the United Auto Workers. The United States Steel Corporation caved in less
than a month later, and by 1941 some 10,500,000 workers were unionized, three times as
many as a decade before. The CIO became a mainstay of…

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Charles Stewart Mott
ARTICLE

 Introduction & Quick Facts

FAST FACTS
ADDITIONAL INFO
HomePolitics, Law & GovernmentBusinesspeople & Entrepreneurs

Charles Stewart Mott

American industrialist
Print  Cite Share More

BY The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica | View Edit History

FAST FACTS
Facts & Related Content

Born:
 
June 2, 1875 Newark New Jersey
Died:
 
February 18, 1973 (aged 97) Flint Michigan

See all facts and data →

Charles Stewart Mott, (born June 2, 1875, Newark, N.J., U.S.—

died Feb. 18, 1973, Flint, Mich.), American automotive industrialist
and philanthropist.

In 1900, when Mott started managing the Weston-Mott Co., his

family’s bicycle-tire manufacturing firm in Utica, N.Y., he expanded
the business by manufacturing wheels for automobiles as well as
bicycles. As president of the company from 1903 to 1913, Mott
moved the company to Flint in 1906 to be close to the production
centre of the growing automobile industry.

When General Motors was formed in 1908, Mott acquired a great

quantity of their stock in exchange for 49 percent of his Weston-
Mott holdings. In 1913, when Weston-Mott had become the world’s
leading supplier of automobile axles, Mott traded in the remaining
51 percent of his Weston-Mott stock for General Motors stock. (By
1942 he was the corporation’s largest stockholder.) Mott was active
in General Motors leadership as a corporation director from 1913
until his death and was also a vice president from 1916 to 1937.

Mott was mayor of Flint three times between 1912 and 1918. In 1926
he created the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. His subsequent
gifts of cash and stock made his foundation one of the largest in the
country, with $300 million in assets by the time of his death. The
foundation funded a wide range of social and educational services
for Flint, among other projects.
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
 General Motors

General Motors (GM), American corporation that was the world’s largest motor-vehicle
manufacturer for much of the 20th and early 21st centuries. It operates manufacturing and
assembly plants and distribution centres throughout the United States, Canada, and many
other countries. The company’s…

Flint

Flint, city, seat (1836) of Genesee county, eastern Michigan, U.S. It lies along the Flint
River, 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Detroit. It originated in 1819 as a trading post
opened by Jacob Smith. Laid out beginning in 1830 and named for the river (which the
Native Americans called Pawanunking,…

social service

social service, any of numerous publicly or privately provided services intended to aid
disadvantaged, distressed, or vulnerable persons or groups. The term social service also
denotes the profession engaged in rendering such services. The social services have
flourished in the 20th century as…
 HISTORY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
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History of General Motors:

Timeline and Facts
The name “General Motors” used to go hand in hand with the
American way of life; an industrial titan that helped build the
way of the U.S. In more recent years, the company's image
has been tarnished, but, renewed from bankruptcy, it
continues to operate on the world stage.
DAVE BUTLER




History of General Motors: Timeline

and Facts
One of the surviving entities of the old American titans, General
Motors’ (GM) - Get General Motors Company (GM) Report has a history
that is in essence the history of America. That includes the good, and the
bad. Whether it be the development of some of the first luxury vehicles to
the production of military equipment in World War II, General Motors has
been a major player in U.S. history, dominating the auto industry as the
largest in the world for many years. More recently, the company has not
been without controversy over some poor business management, as well
as questionable commitments to American manufacturing.

History of General Motors

The beginnings of GM go hand-in-hand with the rise of American industry.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, General Motors began in 1908 when
William C. Durant led the creation of the company. The company actually
brought to together different companies that included Buick, Oldsmobile,
and Oakland, among other lesser known names today.

The company grew, introducing the electric starter, eventually becoming

the General Motors Corporation, adding Chevrolet and Delco to its army,
and expanding to become the largest automaker in the world for many
years.

A Timeline of General Motors

1908-Head of Buick Motor Company, Williams C. Durant orchestrates the
creation of the General Motors Company. Much of the original intent of the
company was to offer many different types of cars to appeal to different
people, going against the Ford model of making one car.

1911-Durant’s overzealous spending habits lead to his forced exit by the

board. He would manage to get back into the company after acquiring a
great deal of shares, after involvement with the Chevrolet brothers.

1916-The company is reincorporated a General Motors Corporation.

1918-Chevrolet auto company joins General Motors.

1920-Durant is forced out of the company for the second time. Alfred Sloan
Jr. takes over and reorganizes the company into Cadillac, Buick,
Oldsmobile, Chevrolet and Pontiac. Sloan’s leadership led to a central
business that governed the separate car company’s.
1920s thru early 1930s-General Motors expands with overseas assets like
Opel, Vauxhall, and also acquired the company that would later become
GMC trucks.

1929-GM is bigger than Ford. (F) - Get Ford Motor Company Report

1931-The company is the world’s largest auto conglomerate.

1950s-1960s - GM’s success is unparalleled as the American economy

booms.

1970s-Things start to get tougher as Japanese car companies like

Toyota (TM) - Get Toyota Motor Corp. Sponsored ADR Report begin to
make waves with their cheaper substitute goods.

1980s-Expansion into data companies and Hughes Aircraft.

1990s- The company has suffered losses as competition and the costs of
modernization have caught up with the business.

2000s-Despite strong consumer demand for SUVs that allowed for a boom
in the early 2000s, the combination of rising fuel prices and debt eventually
push General Motors, along with many other automakers, to the brink of
bankruptcy. The company also sold off assets within its financial services,
to create capital and remove liabilities.

2008-GM loses its status as the world’s largest car company to Toyota.
Government issues emergency funds to rescue GM, Chrysler (FCAU) - Get
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. Report and Ford.

2009-Failing to revive itself, General Motors files for bankruptcy with over
$100 billion in debt.
Eventually the automaker came out of bankruptcy, restructured, shrunk the
size of the overall business, and continued operations.

Controversy
One of the biggest controversies surrounding GM was its financial bailout
and subsequent bankruptcy. With some accounts saying the company was
over $150 billion in debt, one could question whether it was in any way
appropriate to distribute bailout funds to the company. The argument could
be made that the money simply delayed the inevitable.

In all, the federal government is reported to have lost over $11 billion from

the bailout. On the flip side, the number of jobs and industry that were
saved could be countered as a justifiable reason for the financial support.
Regardless of where you stand, it’s certainly a dark moment in the history
of General Motors.

What’s Happening in 2020?

Like most automakers, General Motors remains heavily reliant on the
revenue that comes from truck/SUV sales. The imbalance between trucks,
SUVs and crossovers vs. traditional cars has been so wide that the
company has scaled back on the overall size of its traditional sedan
offerings. While there is constant chatter these days about electric vehicles,
the real cash within cars continues to reside in traditional pickup trucks. To
that end, many automakers are at a confusing crossroad.

Outside of these big ticket vehicles, the overall auto sector has seen
declining sales as it becomes much clearer that the auto cycle peaked a
few years ago. It is likely that the continued financial strength of names like
GM will go hand in hand with the strength of the U.S. economy.
The markets have never really regained trust for automakers, and General
Motors’ shares trade at a low valuation relative to earnings. This isn’t out of
the norm, as most car names outside of Tesla (TSLA) - Get Tesla Inc
Report trade at low premiums. In a way it makes these types of stocks very
easy to understand. They are inherently reactive to the ups and downs of
the

Additional Details
 Public Company
 Incorporated:1916
 Employees:326,000
 Sales:$185.5 billion (2003)
 Stock Exchanges:New York Toronto Frankfurt Euronext Paris London
 Ticker Symbol:GM
 NAIC:336111 Automobile Manufacturing; 336112 Light Truck and Utility
Vehicle Manufacturing; 336211 Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing; 336350
Motor Vehicle Transmission and Power Train Parts Manufacturing; 336510
Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing; 421110 Automobile and Other Motor
Vehicle Wholesalers; 441110 New Car Dealers; 522220 Sales Financing;
522291 Consumer Lending; 522292 Real Estate Credit; 524126 Direct
Property and Casualty Insurance Carriers; 532112 Passenger Cars Leasing

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