By Sharon Terlep Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES DETROIT -(Dow Jones)- General Motors Corp. (GM) sales chief Mark LaNeve on Monday played down speculation the auto maker will kill its Saturn brand, saying GM is instead focused on finding a new business model for the money-losing lineup.
LaNeve, in a broadcast to dealers, also promised "aggressive" incentives starting in January to move 2009 cars and trucks.
"We have a very successful consumer brand with Saturn. We need to find the right business model," said LaNeve, adding that the company has received hundreds of letters from Saturn customers supporting the brand. "We are completely behind Saturn."
As part of the restructuring plan it rolled out to secure federal loans, GM promised to "explore alternatives" for Saturn that could include joining with another auto maker, selling Saturn or closing the brand.
LaNeve said the atypical franchise agreements GM has with Saturn dealers allow the company more freedom to restructure the brand, but he didn't specify alternatives under consideration.
GM started Saturn in 1985, touting the brand as a "Different kind of car company," positioned to battle Toyota Motor Co. (TM) and Honda Motor Corp. (HMC). But the brand has struggled with red ink and slumping sales for years despite major investments from GM and an all-new lineup of vehicles.
LaNeve said the auto maker expects to announce significant developments in efforts to sell its Saab and Hummer brands by the end of March 2009.
LaNeve spoke for an hour, fielding a number of questions from jittery dealers worried about the future of brands and GM finance arm GMAC Financial Services.
He said GM is focused on clearing 2007 and 2008 model-year vehicles from showrooms by the end of the year. The auto maker is saddled with a glut of unsold vehicles as U.S. auto sales creep to multi-decade lows. LaNeve said GM would like to direct more money to discounts on 2009 vehicles but must first move to clear out 2008 cars and trucks.
"We need to sell to generate cash. We will be aggressive," on incentives he said. "Please, sell like crazy."
On GMAC, LaNeve said the auto maker and finance company are in the midst of a "complex set of discussions." GMAC poses the most immediate threat to the auto maker, as it struggles to stay afloat amid a crackdown on lending and massive losses on bad home mortgages, vehicle leases and unpaid auto loans. GM dealers, which depend of GMAC to finance their inventory and extend vehicle loans to consumers, have struggled as the firm tightens lending.
Additionally, the lender currently owes GM up to $1.5 billion in delayed payments related to wholesale financing for auto dealers, and that money is due Dec. 30. GM needs the money in order to pay its suppliers in early January.
"We're working 24/7 on GMAC," LaNeve said. "We hope to have good news soon on that as well."
-By Sharon Terlep, Dow Jones Newswires; 248-204-5532; sharon.terlep@dowjones.com.
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Publié le 22 Décembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones