New General Motors emerges from bankruptcy

July 10, 2009

General Motors Corp. is officially no more. The auto manufacturer has emerged from bankruptcy in the form of a brand new entity, General Motors Co. (GM). "Business as usual is over at GM," says CEO and President Fritz Henderson.

The new company saysit will focus its resources on four "core brands:" Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. These brands will have a total of just 34 nameplates in the U.S. by next year.

This will allow GM "to put more resources into each nameplate, resulting in better products and stronger marketing," according to a statement issued earlier today, July 10.

GM will continue to reduce its dealer network from 6,000 to 3,600 by the end of 2009.

On the production side, by the end of 2010, the company will operate 34 plants, down from 47 factories last year. Capacity utilization is expected to reach 100% during 2011.