The restructuring of General Motors has been well underway in light of the billions of dollars at stake from the government. As a result, GM has clustered certain brands together, while other brands have gone into “strategic review” and face being sold or eliminated. While restructuring is far from over, what is known is that GM simply has too many brands, too many dealers, and too few customers at the moment.
One of the GM brands that has remained unscathed in the shuffling at GM is GMC. GMC is brand that has offered rebadged Chevrolet trucks, vans, and SUVs for years. While these vehicles are made side by side Chevy models, and are largely identical, GMC has somehow managed to be a small notch more upscale than their Chevy counterparts, perhaps thanks to models like the Yukon Denali.
With a lineup of trucks that are essentially identical to Chevy’s lineup, the question is why GMC has remained a core brand under the GM umbrella? Chevy is a no brainer, Cadillac is the brand’s true luxury marquee, Pontiac is going to work towards becoming a sport-oriented specialty brand, but what value is GMC providing wonders customers at New Orleans Chevrolet? Already, there are too many dealers pushing domestic brands with too little demand, so why maintain a brand that doesn’t offer a unique product lineup, and frankly doesn’t offer a true brand identity?
Of course, badge engineering is cheap. That goes without saying, as GM has taken this strategy to the extreme across its brands. Even Saab was forced to sell the Chevy Trailblazer-derived 9-7X SUV. But even so, the inexpensive process of throwing a GMC badge on a Tahoe doesn’t make it necessary.
The real answer comes down to the dealers says one Cleveland Chevrolet dealer. GM has worked hard to cluster its brands at the dealer level creating Chevrolet-Cadillac dealerships Hartford Pontiac Buick GMC and Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealerships like GMC Washington DC. If Pontiac does eventually become a specialty brand, it will likely remain low-volume just like Buick is in its current state. This means that dealers need GMC to offer mainstream trucks and SUVs that offer more sales volume.
Regardless, no matter how you look at it, GM’s lineup remains a bit awkward, with plenty of redundancies. Despite brand loyalties across the plethora of current brands, Orlando Chevrolet dealers recognize that GM will have to make bold concessions, just has Ford has already done, to keep afloat while consumers and the auto market change.
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