Reinvention “Chapter 1” – General Motors
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY/Challenge
In 2008, the automotive industry faced its most challenging year. Unemployment was at its highest level since the Great Depression. The U.S. housing market continued its three year decline. Delinquency of personal loans was peaking. These conditions started a substantial decline in U.S. and global automotive sales. Then in the summer of 2008, gas prices climbed to record highs in the U.S., above $4 per gallon, which further effected vehicle sales, especially the highly profitable truck segments that had been growing for decades. With the collapse of the financial markets in the...