BIG CHANGES AT GM REFLECT EVEN BIGGER CHANGES IN THE INDUSTRY

THE TRAVAILS OF General Motors might not seem all that relevant to UK car buyers. After all, the US firm sold off its European brands, Vauxhall and Opel, last year, a move that signalled the issues the firm faced. But the scale with which GM announced it would “accelerate its transformation” – read ‘shut seven plants and cut 14,000 jobs’ – is a stark reminder of the challenge the industry faces.

GM has been struggling to adjust to change in consumer demand for SUVS, and the legislation-fuelled rise of EVS – the latter despite it being ahead of the curve with the Bolt EV and (now-axed) Volt hybrid.

The industry is changing at unprecedented pace. That’s a challenge for huge corporations, especially faced with new, smaller, nimble rivals less burdened by infrastructure. GM is not alone. Ford is restructuring, too.

It has become an ‘adapt or die’ industry. Despite Dieselgate, the Volkswagen Group is thriving: it saw electrification coming and, along with firms such as Mercedes and BMW, gambled billions on that path. GM is now playing catch-up in areas in which it should have led. Let’s hope, for its remaining workforce, that it can because even bigger changes still are on the way.