GM global reach finally grasps

BEIJING -- After touting the advantages of global platforms for several years, General Motors is finally carrying out the strategy -- for mid-sized cars, at least. Bidding for its mid-sized platform, formerly called Epsilon, is under way in China. And instead of bidding to supply a component for just that country, suppliers say, they were told they must supply Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe and North America to win the contract. "GM stuck to their guns and made sure suppliers are supplying in all four regions," says the general manager of Asia Pacific for a U.S. Tier 1 supplier. "This one was winner take all."It's a milestone for General Motors, which in 2004 came up with a plan to source globally for different platforms. The rationale was to save money -- up to $1 billion over the four- to five-year life of one platform. GM's new approach favors large suppliers with factories in Asia, Europe and North America. They can boost sales with high-volume global contracts. But the risks are high, too: Under the old system, a supplier could lose the contract in one region but still supply another.Models to be built on the redesigned global mid-sized car platform include the Opel Vectra, Chevy Malibu, Pontiac G6 and Saab 9-3. Although the current models are similar, Opel, Saab and GM North America altered their versions sufficiently to reduce the number of global parts contracts. Jim Queen, vice president of global engineering, says that by using one platform, GM will produce 40 percent fewer prototypes, cut material costs by 20 percent and reduce engineering costs and overall investment by 25 percent. The mid-sized car platform was the first to be designated as truly global. GM now has six more to go: compact cars, small cars, luxury rear-wheel-drive vehicles, rear-wheel-drive vehicles, compact crossovers and mid-sized trucks. Some regional differences will remain. For the mid-sized car platform, for example, a stretch version is to be built in China to cater to the large number of chauffeur-driven executives here. And full-sized trucks will remain a regional platform sold mainly in North America.But, says Queen, GM expects to reduce its platform count over time by 50 percent. Katherine Sima in Shanghai contributedto this report You may e-mail Alysha Webb at alyshawebb@yahoo.com

GM global reach finally grasps

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