The global automobile industry - an analysis of General Motors - Case Study Example

General Motors has survived major economic whirlwinds that have rocked the United States and the global automobile industry. However, the company has had its fair share of challenges, some of which have threatened is very existence. Despite the good financial statistics that General Motors Corporation has posted over the years, it is worth noting that the company has faced a number of challenges, considering the dynamic nature of the automobile industry (Fear, 2004). However, the company has not attained its optimal performance because of two separate incidents of bankruptcy claims.

In addition, General Motors has had to repossess most of its cars in the United States after widespread claims of faulty ignition systems. Both of these factors have affected the financial performance of GMC tremendously. Besides, General Motors faces stiff competition from a number of automobile companies with huge market shares in the United States. General Motors survived bankruptcy in 2009 after receiving help from the federal government. In essence, General Motors was on the verge of collapsing because it had closed Saturn, Hummer, and Pontiac brands.

This move came at a time when General Motors had already closed its Saab brand, which was a Swedish brand. GM’s shareholders felt the hitch because they could not access the assets of the firm in some countries, especially in Europe and Asia. General Motors had a new positive twist in 2010 because it reverted to its old symbol on the New York Stock Exchange (Smolinsky, 2011). During the same year, GM traded its shares in the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company performed well throughout the year at the New York Stock Exchange after an initial public offering (IPO) of $23 billion at $33per share.

The filing of bankruptcy by General Motors took the country a step back by a total of $ billion that was used to bail out the company. Indeed, GM’s bankruptcy affected the U.S. economy in a negative way because the