Knowing

General Motors

Welcome
to

Worlds Number
One Automotive
Company

General Motors Corporation

The worlds largest automaker, has been the
global industry sales leader since 1931.
Founded in 1908, employs about 350,000 people
around the world.
Has manufacturing operations in 32 countries and
its vehicles are sold in 200 countries.

GM Worldwide

General Motors Corporation

GMs global headquarters are at the GM

Renaissance Center in Detroit.

1890-2006

1897
Olds Motor Vehicle Company, Inc., the oldest
unit of General Motors Corporation, is
organized by Ransom E. Olds with capital of
$50,000 & the first Oldsmobile is produced

1903 May 19 - Buick Motor

Company, founded by David
Dunbar Buick, is incorporated.

1904 November 1 - William Crapo

("Billy")
Durant
of
Durant-Dort
Carriage Company, Flint, Michigan,
takes control of Buick Motor
Company.

1902
Cadillac Automobile Company is organized in Detroit
by Henry M. Leland, a precision manufacturer of
automotive components.

1908 Sept 16th

Under Billy Durant's leadership,
General
Motors
Company
is
organized, incorporating the Buick
Motor Company.
1908 Nov 12th - Oldsmobile
becomes the second company to
join General Motors when Olds
Motor Works is sold to GM.

1909
General Motors purchases Cadillac on July 29, 1909

1911
Chevrolet
Motor
Company
of
Michigan
is
incorporated
in
November of 1911 by Louis
Chevrolet, William Little and Edwin
Cambell, William Durant's son-inlaw. Headquarters are in Detroit.

1911
Cadillac adopts the
electric self-starter as
standard equipment.

1925
Vauxhall Motors Ltd., Luton, England, is acquired by
General Motors.

1926
GM enters South Africa by forming General
Motors South African (Pty.) Limited.
General Motors (Australia) Pty. Ltd. is
incorporated with headquarters at Melbourne
General Motors New Zealand Ltd. begins
assembly operations at Petone on August 30.

1929
Adam Opel AG, based in
Rsselsheim,
Germany,
is
acquired by GM and takes its
place as a key member of the
General Motors family.

1930
The 1930 Cadillac "V-16" is the
industry's first production car to
offer sixteen-cylinder engine and
immediately sets a new standard
for power, performance & luxury

1931
General Motors - Holden's Ltd. is
formed
through
merger
of
Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd.
and GM (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

1940
GM celebrates production of
its 25-millionth car.

1950
Chevrolet introduces the Powerglide transmission,
becoming the first competitor in the low-price field to
offer fully automatic shifting.

1951
Buick's LeSabre and XP-300,
two custom-built superstreamlined concept cars,
are introduced to test GM's
new advances in styling and
mechanical features.

1952
Power steering is offered by
Cadillac, Oldsmobile and Buick.

1953
The Chevrolet Corvette is
introduced. It is the first
volume production sports car
and the first production car
with a plastic body to be
produced in quantity.

1958
GM marks its 50th anniversary
with a year-long Golden
Milestone celebration. The theme
was "From the Progress of the
Past - the Promise of the Future"

1967
GM celebrates the production of
its 100-millionth US-made car
(April 21).

1972

GM enters into a joint venture with Shinjin Motor

Co. of Seoul, Korea, to build and market cars in
Korea.
The joint venture is named General Motors Korea
Company, Ltd.
The company is renamed Saehan Motor in 1976.
In 1982, Daewoo Group assumes managerial
control and renames it Daewoo Motor Co. Ltd.
GM retains 50% stake until 1992

1981
GM and Suzuki Motor Company, Ltd., the worlds
largest manufacturer of mini-compact vehicles,
announce an agreement to develop future supply
and distribution arrangements.

1983
The 1984 Chevrolet
Corvette is introduced, with
the cars first major styling
change in 15 years.

1986
General Motors of Canada
and Suzuki announce a
joint venture, CAMI, to
manufacture small cars
and sport utility vehicles in
Canada.

1995
GM sales beyond North America exceed 3 million
units for the first time.
General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industry
Corporation (SAIC) sign an agreement for a
proposed vehicle joint venture, a joint venture
technical development center and other related
projects in Shanghai, China

1999
Adam Opel celebrates 100 years of automobile
production.

2001
GM Daewoo Auto & Technology (GMDAT) was
established.
Shanghai
GM,
launches the Buick
Sail,
the
first
modern family car
built in China.

2002
The GMDAT started operations on October 17,
with GM and its partners Suzuki and SAIC
(Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation)
holding a stake of 66.7% with investments of
US$400 million.

2004
GM is the only auto maker to make Fortune
magazine's annual rankings of the top 50 "Best
Companies for Minorities."

2005
The all-new Chevrolet Aveo sedan makes its
worldwide debut at Auto Shanghai, China's premier
auto show.

GM Brands
Corporate
brand

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brands

Service
brands