Carmakers team up to cut costs
General Motors (GM) and Hyundai Motor Company have signed an agreement to explore future collaboration across key strategic areas.
The companies say they will look for ways to leverage their complementary scale and strengths to reduce costs and bring a wider range of vehicles and technologies to market faster.
Potential collaboration projects centre on co-development and production of passenger and commercial vehicles, internal combustion engines and clean-energy, electric and hydrogen technologies.
As part of the agreement, the carmakers will also review opportunities for combined sourcing in areas such as battery raw materials and steel.
A non-binding memorandum of understanding between the companies was signed by Mary Barra, pictured left, GM’s chair and chief executive officer, and Euisun Chung, pictured right, Hyundai Motor Group executive chair.
Barra says the partnership has the potential to make vehicle development more efficient by driving greater scale and supporting disciplined capital allocation.
“GM and Hyundai have complementary strengths and talented teams. Our goal is to unlock the scale and creativity of both companies to deliver even more competitive vehicles to customers faster and more efficiently,” she adds.
Chung continues that the agreement will enable the companies to evaluate opportunities to enhance competitiveness in key markets and vehicle segments.
He says it will also drive cost efficiencies and provide stronger customer value “through our combined expertise and innovative technologies”.
