GM gears up to launch new premium import business in China

BEIJING (Reuters) - General Motors Co plans to create a new, independently owned premium brand in China that will market what the automaker’s China chief Julian Blissett recently described as “halo

March 8, 2022

BEIJING (Reuters) – General Motors Co plans to create a new, independently owned premium brand in China that will market what the automaker’s China chief Julian Blissett recently described as “halo cars” brought in from the United States.

GM plans to build this new “premium import business” from the ground up and operate it with “a high level of autonomy,” GM said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Halo cars,” as described by Blissett, refer to premium, often high-performance cars that have an edgy design.

“We are inviting talent from across the industry to join us and jointly create our brand-new business in China,” it said.

The U.S. automaker issued the statement after multiple Chinese media outlets reported this week about the new wholly owned brand.

According to a Shanghai-based GM spokesperson, Blissett told Chinese media outlets on Friday the new premium brand will specialize in selling upscale GM vehicles currently unavailable in China through its existing brands. Those brands include Wuling, Baojun, Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac, all of which are owned and operated with Chinese joint-venture partners.

Blissett told Chinese media outlets the new business will be fully owned by GM, the spokesperson said.

Additional details such as which vehicle models the new brand plans to sell or how such models are going to be marketed and distributed will be announced at a later date, she said.

(The story refiles to remove word ‘halo’ from headline, adds definition for it in third paragraph)

(Reporting By Norihiko Shirouzu in Beijing; Editing by Bernadette Baum)