Report: GM May Unload Six Cars in U.S. to Make Way for Crossovers

Crossovers reign supreme in today’s auto market, and there’s little indication that reality will change in the near future. Adjusting to the shift, General Motors is apparently considering the replacement of a number of passenger car models with more popular vehicles such as crossovers. According to a report from Reuters, GM could get rid of as many as six car models starting next decade.

Dennis Williams, president of the United Auto Workers, said that the union is talking with GM about vehicles at underused plants and their possible replacements. “We are talking to [GM] right now about the products that they currently have,” Williams said. “We are tracking it [and] we are addressing it.”

Unnamed sources told Reuters that GM is examining whether or not to cancel at least six passenger cars in the U.S. after 2020. The Chevrolet Volt, for example, may bow out of the market in 2022 to make room for a gasoline-electric crossover, people familiar with the matter said. Other cars that could potentially hit the chopping block include the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CT6, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Impala, and Chevrolet Sonic.

GM produced 35,000 cars in the first half of this year, down 32 percent compared to the first half of last year. Right in the storm of this car slump is GM’s Hamtramck plant in Michigan, which makes the LaCrosse, Impala, CT6, and Volt. GM has slashed shifts at many U.S. plants this year to reduce inventory levels.

One analyst seems to predict a pretty grim future for GM cars in the next few years. Bank of America Merrill Lynch auto analyst John Murphy estimates that less than 10 percent of GM’s new vehicle models over the next four years will be cars. The other 90 percent will consist of crossovers, SUVs, and trucks, he said.

Source: Reuters

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