GM Could Go Back to Europe, Just Not Selling Mass-Market Cars
General Motors Co. sold its European unit earlier this year, but it may not have given up on the region for good.
(Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. sold its European unit earlier this year, but it may not have given up on the region for good.
Instead of selling mass-market cars there, it’s possible the automaker would consider re-entering Europe using its newfound tech chops, like with self-driving vehicle technology or mobility as a service, Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra said in Detroit.
“Nothing keeps us from going back to Europe,” she said at an Automotive Press Association event. It’s “absolutely” possible, she said.
GM sold its money-losing European Opel unit to France’s PSA Group earlier this year as part of a strategy to pull out of weak markets. The withdrawal from Europe comes as the more than century-old automaker tries to reinvent itself as a tech-savvy manufacturer able to compete with the likes Uber Technologies Inc. or Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo. Barra has been investing more in self-driving cars, electric vehicle tech and ride-sharing services, with the push into new mobility areas sending GM shares on a tear in the second half of the year.
The automaker showed off its self-driving Bolt in San Francisco last month and said it will have them ready for ride-sharing or ride-hailing services in 2019.
To contact the reporter on this story: David Welch in Southfield at dwelch12@bloomberg.net.
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