In May, GM said that it would add a second shift at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant by late this fall to double Volt production. Instead, a plant overhaul completed this summer, along with a more-modest addition of workers, will allow GM to double production starting early next year while remaining on one shift, the company said Friday.

GM said the move “will significantly reduce costs, and has no impact on the plant’s ability to make 60,000 Volts and Amperas (the European version of the Volt) in 2012.” In May, GM upped its 2012 production forecast to 60,000, from an earlier forecast of 45,000. GM said it still will add about 300 people at the start of the year to increase Volt production, but it will remain on one 10-hour shift, four days a week.

GM is pushing back plans for a second shift, which would have added hundreds more workers, until the second half of 2012. By then, it’s expected that production of the next-generation Chevy Malibu will have begun at the plant.

George McGregor, president of UAW Local 22, which represents workers at the plant, said he had expected the addition of a second shift sometime in 2012, but GM had not specified when.

“The sooner the better, but I guess demand will dictate when that happens,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll get a third shift someday, too.”

GM spokesman Chris Lee said in a statement: “This approach is just a more efficient way to make the same number of vehicles–it’s good for our business and good for our customers.”

In May, GM said it eventually would add a third shift at the plant, which is scheduled to begin assembly of the next-generation Chevy Malibu, due out early next year, and a new Chevy Impala, which is expected in 2013.

The plant was idled for about six weeks over the summer to automate some functions in the body shop, such as the subassembly of doors. GM also took out roughly six miles worth of conveyor belts, which streamlined the operation and boosted its throughput, the source said.

Those changes have increased production even before adding workers. This year through early August, the plant produced 4,249 Volts. GM says total production will hit 16,000 by year end.

About 10,000 of those will be sold in the United States, GM has said. Another 2,500 will be used as dealer demos. The rest will have been exported to Europe and China.

Next year, GM expects to produce about 45,000 Volts for the United States, along with 15,000 units for export.

GM sold 723 Volts in September. GM sold 3,895 Volts through the first nine months of the year. The vehicle went on sale in December.

source from: autoweek

General Motors Renaissance Center, Detroit, Michigan

General Motors has released today its first financial results since emerging from bankruptcy on July 10 as a ‘new’ company. The results are for the first 83 days of operation and from an initial inspection things are looking much better for GM.

Excluding special items, GM has posted an operating loss of $261 million and a managerial net loss of $1.2 billion. However, the big news here is revenue of $28 billion in the third quarter of 2009, which was up more than $4.9 billion compared to the revenue recognized by the ‘old’ GM for the previous quarter.

Much of this was attributed to strong sales in emerging markets like China and Brazil. In fact, GM’s global market share was 11.9% in the third quarter, up 0.3 percentage points from the first half of the year for the old GM. In the U.S., GM’s market share stayed flat at 19.5% over the same period.

Looking ahead to 2010, GM anticipates modest growth, with total industry vehicle sales across the globe estimated at 62 to 65 million units, with a modest recovery in the U.S. market where the outlook for the 2010 calendar year for total vehicles is estimated at 11-12 million units.

Importantly, GM intends to make payments totalling $2.5 billion in the next quarter for the respective U.S., Canada, Ontario and Germany government loans.

Source:motorauthority.com

Supercar company Koenigsegg believes it has what it takes to save Saab

General Motors and Koenigsegg Group AB, a consortium led by supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg, have officially reached an agreement over the sale of Saab after nearly two decades of American ownership. GM has confirmed today that it has signed a stock purchase agreement with Koenigsegg Group AB regarding the sale of 100% of the shares of Saab.

The deal is expected to conclude in the next months and will then secure Saab’s future, with the Swedish automaker set to exit legal reorganization shortly. The stock purchase agreement will be subject to agreed closing conditions, namely, the guarantee of funding commitments from the Swedish government, as well as transitional assistance from GM.

As part of the proposed transaction, GM and Saab will continue to share technology and services during a defined time period, all managed through licenses and service agreements.
Koenigsegg co-owner Baard Eker has previously stated that his company has several good solutions to bring into Saab. Strong words coming from a man whose company has less than 50 employees and turns out only a handful of $1 million supercars each year, but with the new funding Saab should be able to successfully launch three new models over the next 18 months and hopefully see the company become an innovator of technology like it had been in the past.

The three new models planned include the recently revealed 9-3X as well as the new 9-4X and aforementioned 9-5. Koenigsegg, meanwhile, will reportedly benefit from Saab’s existing production facilities and plans to use the capacity for its upcoming Quant electric supercar.

Last year Saab saw its global sales drop 25.5% to just 93,338 units and 2009 is expected to be even lower. The struggling automaker had originally filed for reorganization under Swedish Law on February 20, 2009.

Source:motorauthority.com

Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept Grile

Rear-wheel drive is a defining element of a luxury car for many buyers, endowing a car with superior handling and dynamics despite somewhat more expensive and marginally less efficient packaging. So it’s with relief that Cadillac fans heard the news last week that the upcoming ‘baby’ sedan, dubbed the ATS, is officially confirmed to get rear-wheel drive standard, with optional all-wheel drive available. Today, even more details about the upcoming BMW 3-series fighter has come out.

The latest information on the ATS reveals that the car will possibly reflect some influence from GM’s down-under subsidiary, Holden. About five years ago, Holden unveiled a rear-drive, mid-sized concept called the TT36 Torana, which actually previewed the styling of the upcoming VE Commodore (known here in the U.S. as the Pontiac G8).

But according to a GoAuto report, GM’s new marketing chief and long-time product guru Bob Lutz has said the Torana is actually the basis for the Alpha platform spoken of so often in the U.S. media.

“Torana is a rear-wheel drive vehicle smaller than the Zeta architecture and smaller than the current CTS Cadillac architecture. It is, or would be, about the size of a BMW 1 Series – maybe just a tiny bit bigger to enable larger wheels,” said Lutz.

“Now that is the architecture that has been bandied about the US press under the name of ‘Alpha Architecture’, and Alpha is still under consideration, but we haven’t kicked off any design work or any engineering work because we have to sort our way through this 35 mpg task.”

Holden, therefore, could be involved in any future Alpha platform development. Given the existing production and import/export relationships between Holden and GM’s U.S. operations, it’s an easy move.

The ATS will be part of General Motors’ new small car platform family, so the drivetrain layout is likely to find its way into other small GM-branded vehicles, including Buick’s upcoming small crossover. With its small size and likely affordable pricing, the ATS is intended to be Cadillac’s highest-volume seller.

The new car’s styling will be somewhat reminiscent of the current CTS, though it will also be its own vehicle. Going heads-up against BMW’s 3-series and Mercedes C-Class in size and performance while undercutting them in price doesn’t mean it will have any room to look less than put-together, however, so expect a package at least as tight as the CTS if Cadillac is going to reach its desired sales figures.

Cadillac is also working on a larger, more 7-series/S-Class-sized XTS flagship sedan, which will get some styling influence from the dramatic, long and sleek Sixteen Concept, though with a somewhat softer, more chrome-laden final result.

Source:motorauthority.com