General Motors do Brasil

General Motors do Brasil Ltda.^[1]
Company type	Wholly ownedsubsidiary
Industry	Automotive
Founded	1925;99 years ago
Headquarters	São Caetano do Sul, Brazil
Key people	Santiago Chamorro, (CEO)
Products	Automobiles,pickups
Brands	Chevrolet
Revenue	US$7.31 billion(2012)
Parent	General Motors
Website	chevrolet.br

General Motors do Brasilis the largestsubsidiaryofGeneral MotorsinSouth America,one of the oldest and largest car producers inBrazil.

Founded in 1925 and initially located in the historic district ofIpiranga,São Paulo,the company assembled cars using imported parts from theUnited States.

History

Initially operating in a rented warehouse, GM do Brasil opened its first plant in 1930 inSão Caetano do Sul,São Paulo.

In 1958, a second factory was opened inSão José dos Campos,officially inaugurated a year later byJuscelino Kubitschek,thePresident of Brasilat the time, fordie castingand other cars assemblies.

GM introduced its first car in the country, theChevrolet Opala,in 1968.

In 1973, GM launched theChevrolet Chevette,which has accumulated sales exceeding 1.2 million units. It was replaced by theChevrolet Corsain 1994, the firsteconomy carwith electronic fuel injection in Brazil, after tests were conducted nearIndaiatuba.

From 1968 until 2005, GM usedOpel-developed cars badged as "Chevrolet".

In July 2000 launched the Industrial Complex ofGravataíinRio Grande do Sul,one of the world's most modern factories.^[2]

After globalisation and selling ofOpeltoPSA and after Stellantis,vehicles like theOnixwere made from project designed and imported fromSaic-GMin Shanghai, China. Most designs came ready from Warren, mainly pickup trucks. Other brazilian own projects cars were theChevrolet Agile,still based on Corsa Platform,Chevrolet Meriva,Chevrolet Kadett,Chevrolet MonzaandChevrolet Zafira,those from Opel projects, among others brazilian own studies.

In 2005, GM do Brasil sold a total of 365,259 vehicles, 21.3% of the Brazilian market. The percentage was 22.6% in the SUV and commercial segment. The company's total production reached 559,345 units when counting exports.

In 2005, exports reached a value ofUS$1.6 billion, for the shipment of 114,994complete knock-down(CKD) units and 125,678 vehicles exported to some 40 countries around the world. The main market for exports wasMexico,followed byArgentina,Venezuela,South Africaand other Latin American countries.

In the social area, GM do Brasil focused activities through theGeneral Motors Institute,created in 1993, its mission is to rescue the citizenship of children, youths and adults from poor communities, which are located especially close to industrial plants of the company. Its shares are primarily in education.

In 2019, GM do Brasil sold 475,684 vehicles, an increase of 10% over the previous calendar year, surpassing China in sales. The last time sales exceed the Asian country was 2013, when GM sold 643,100 units in Brazil.^[3]

In 2021, a huge investment ofR$10 billion (US$1.86 billion) was made to improve manufacturing in São Paulo. The investment was first announced in 2019.^[4]^[5]^[6]Despite this, sales dropped 28.5% to 242,108 vehicles.^[7]^[8]

In December 2021, GM South America announced to hire around 250 engineers from various specialties to work mainly in the areas of the São Caetano do Sul Technological Centre, such as bodywork and structure, exterior, interior, chassis, engine, transmission, electronics, controllers, software and virtual simulation.^[9]At 2023 1100 Employees were dismissed. From 2024 to 2028, an investment plan of R$7 billion or US$1.4 billion is ongoing, US$350 million per year, with subside of Brazilian President, in order to review and update the models tooling products.^[10]