
GM is preparing for potential U.S. tariffs on Mexico and Canada by speeding up imports and exploring more domestic production, according to Christopher Otts and Mike Colias of The Wall Street Journal. Despite these challenges, GM reported strong 2024 profits and is focused on growing its EV and China operations. They write:
General Motors is taking steps to soften the blow of U.S. tariffs on Mexico and Canada, including expediting vehicle imports from those countries and strategizing ways to potentially build more pickup trucks domestically.
The Trump administration has signaled that the U.S. could impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada as soon as Saturday, levies that could roil the auto industry given its extensive factory network across the three countries.
Chief Executive Mary Barra said Tuesday during GM’s fourth-quarter conference call that the company makes its lucrative pickup trucks in all three countries, and that GM has factory space in the U.S. to shift some work there. […]
GM is among the most vulnerable automakers, with more than a third of its U.S. sales estimated to be produced in Mexico and Canada. […]
China previously was a significant profit contributor for GM, once sending about $2 billion a year to the bottom line. Executives have said the business is unlikely to return to those glory days.
“China as an entity I think will be smaller than it has been historically,” Jacobson said Monday. “But we’ve always committed to getting it to profitability and ensuring that it can support itself.”
Read more here.