In March 2022, the automaker announced the temporary closure of its Fort Wayne (Indiana) plant between April 4 and April 11 in order to endure the global automotive chip shortage. This production halt is expected to affect pickup truck models such as the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. Despite these setbacks, Chevrolet was the manufacturer’s best-selling vehicle brand in the United States in 2022.
China and the U.S. are GM's largest markets
Most of GM’s revenue in 2022 came from its North American operations, which represented around 81.9 percent of GM’s overall earnings that year. In the United States, GM reported market shares of over 17 percent, trailed only by the Toyota Motor Corporation. The Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra were also among the best-selling light trucks in the country. Light trucks have been steadily gaining popularity in the country, as opposed automobile sales which have been on the decline. Buick—one of GM’s subsidiaries—ranked among the ten most reliable car brands in the U.S., based on car owner perception. Cadillac also ranked in the top 15, and Cadillac and Cherolet also recorded high consumer satisfaction in the country.
That said, the U.S. were surpassed by China in terms of unit sales. General Motors sold over 2.3 million vehicles in China, which represents GM's largest market in terms of vehicle sales. Although most of its cars are assembled in the United States, GM also manufactures a large percentage of cars in Asia: Most of GM’s cars dedicated to the Chinese market are produced locally, and a Buick was the first car to be produced in Shanghai’s GM plant in 1998. The automaker’s joint venture with SAIC and Wuling was also among the leading battery-electric vehicle brands in China in 2021, which was the country with the largest plug-in electric vehicle fleet that same year.
A leader in the global electric vehicle market
In recent years, the automaker has committed to becoming carbon neutral in its global operations and products by 2040. This includes plans to sell exclusively zero-emission vehicles by 2035 and investments of over 35 billion U.S. dollars in electric vehicles through 2025. In line with this goal, GM spent around 9.8 billion U.S. dollars in research and development in 2022—its largest R&D expenditure since 2021.
GM was one of the leading plug-in electric vehicle producers, holding a global market share just under eight percent in 2021. This gave the automaker a head start compared to its main competitors, Stellantis and Ford, which recorded a smaller market share worldwide. The Wuling Hongguang Mini EV, manufactured by GM’s joint venture with SAIC and Wuling, was the fourth best-selling plug-in EV model worldwide in 2022.
While GM is one of the global EV market leaders, it has faced stiff competition in its home market. In the U.S., Tesla dominates the EV market with their Model Y and Model 3 in first and second ranking, respectively, followed by Ford’s Mustang Mach-E which raked third among the best-selling plug-in electric cars in 2021. With around 38,100 sales in the country, the Chevrolet Bolt sold over five times less than Tesla’s Model 3.
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