General Motors, formerly known as the General Motors Corporation, is an American Corporation which is the largest automobile manufacturer in the world. It has multiple manufacturing pants and assembly units all over the world. The company produces major products like automobiles, trucks, various components for automotive uses, and Engines. It is one of the largest producers of jet propeller engines that are used in the aircraft. General Motors is also involved in financial services and has its headquarters in Detroit.
Inception
William C. Durant was the first leader of the newly founded company. The main purpose of the company being formed is to unite and strengthen the various companies like Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and many more under a single entity. GM was the inventor of the electric self-starter, which made its first appearance in the Cadillac. The invention was groundbreaking enough to obsolete the hand crank.
In 1916, the company was renamed and was called General Motors Corporation. The company expanded its business in Detroit, and incorporated Chevrolet auto company and Delco Products under its umbrella in 1918. Many other companies slowly came under the corporation’s name.
William C. Durant was succeeded by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. after he was elected out of the corporation. Alfred led the company as its president from 1923 until 1937. Sloan was successful in making the fragmented and uncoordinated company consisting of many business units into a single enterprise. Then the company had only five main automobile divisions. They were Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Chevrolet.
The operations of these divisions were managed by a central office consisting of large advisory bodies and financial experts. Even after making the various business come under a small division of automobiles, they retained their autonomy, which was directed within a framework. This strategy acquired by Sloan was an expert move to strengthen the company and help the small businesses to grow. He even introduced various innovative financial aiding to the consumer.
Evolution
The company started producing more American passenger-car than the Ford Motor Company in 1929. By this time, the company started acquiring various international car making businesses and companies into its enterprise. The companies were Vauxhall of England, Holden of Australia, and even the Yellow Truck & Coach Manufacturing Co. The Yellow Truck & Coach Manufacturing Co was later renamed to GMC Truck & Coach Division in 1925.
Thus the company started making subsidiaries on more international grounds. By 1944, GM was the largest American automobile company to produce the motor vehicle. They were holding a 44 percent share of all the cars in the United States only.
General Motors continued to grow stronger and held a total of 40 to 50 percent share of the cars in the United States. The company was also aiding the economy of the country to grow. It continues buying many other automobile companies from different parts of the world. It even bought a data processing company like Electronic Data Systems Corporation, in 1984. General Motors expanded its business in various fields like weapon making companies. They bought Hughes Aircraft Company in 1986.
Like many other U.S. automobile companies, General Motors also faced a great competition with the cheap imported Japanese company, in the late 1970s and 80s. They had to create a new division with high tech automated machines to produce the cheap alternative to Japanese cars. But they faced a heavy loss in the 1990s and were forced to reduce the worked by thousands and close some of the plants. But the company made a great recovery from the depression. It sold the data processing company and the defense units of the Hughes Aircraft Company.
General Motors had bought equity shares of many companies that included Fiat, Isuzu, Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru), and Suzuki. Soon, General Motors was the largest Automobile company surpassing the Japanese rival, Toyota.
Awards & Achievements
The company is there for over a century in the automobile industry. They have acquired and won many awards over these years. To list the latest ones, the Human Rights Movement called the organization a ‘Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality’ in 2018. General Motors is listed as one of North America’s 50 Most Committed Workplace Achievers. It was even ranked number 18 in the Forbes ‘JUST 100’ ranking of America’s best corporate citizens.GM is known as one of the Eight Components of Employee Engagement Achievers. This award came from 50 Most Active Workplaces in Achievers
Net Worth of General Motors in 2024
As of April 2024, The estimated net worth of General Motors is $150 billion. The net worth of one of the largest producers of the automobile is massive due to its expert strategy and various business acquirement it had made under the supervision of some great leader. The company is on its way to make more for itself and also aid in increasing employment in various countries.
General Motors is one of the biggest Automobile producers of all time, and since its inception in 1914, it has taken the whole world by storm. The company has various manufacturing and assembly units in various parts of the world. It is no wonder then that General Motors is worth as a fortune, with the value expected to increase more in the days to come.