- GM is stopping some of its US exports to China in the wake of tariffs.
- This move coincides with GM’s reorganization of its operations in China.
- The exports represent less than 0.1 percent of the volume it sells in China.
The concern over a long-standing tariff war might be dwindling, but automakers aren’t counting on it. Several are scrambling to reorganize the way they do business, and GM just made another move. It’s canceling orders and stopping shipments of U.S.-built vehicles to China. While it’ll account for very little of the volume sold in the nation, it will still save GM money on potential tariffs.
Up until now, GM has imported cars to China from the U.S. through its Durant Guild program. Vehicles like the Chevrolet Tahoe, Cadillac Celestiq and GMC Yukon are luxury items there, but now, Chinese customers will have to get them another way. The automaker confirmed to Carscoops that it was suspending orders and retooling operations.
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“GM is committed to continued development in China market and driving success of the joint ventures with our partners,” the company told us in a statement. “To keep the business sustainable, we must stay focused on strong execution, business agility, and customer choices. The Durant Guild is GM’s premium import platform to bring iconic products, which represent less than 0.1% of the volume we sell in China. Due to significant changes to economic conditions, we have decided to restructure The Durant Guild and correspondingly optimize GM China’s operations.”
No doubt, this will be a small drop in the bucket for GM’s profits and losses, but it’s still a marginal gain. Add enough of those together, and they start to make a bigger impact. Automakers around the world are scrambling to find their footing as the industry shifts beneath them. This move, while modest, gives General Motors a bit more clarity on how it plans to navigate the changing landscape.
Notably, GM is far from the only automaker to do something similar to this. Ford stopped its exports to China in April. Some automakers are pausing imports to the U.S. Others are laying off hundreds of workers in the U.S. Where everything shakes out is up for interpretation at this stage.
