Who Owns GMC?

GMC is an American automotive manufacturer based in Detroit, Michigan. It was founded in 1911 by William Durant as General Motors Truck Company. The brand specializes in SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, and light-duty trucks.

However, GMC initially produced fire trucks, ambulances, heavy-duty trucks, military vehicles, motorhomes, and transit buses. In 2023, the company introduced the 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 4WD Denali Ultimate.

This pickup truck has a revised front fascia and a 6.6-liter Duramax turbocharged diesel engine that puts out 470 horsepower and 975 pound-feet of torque. [1]

GMC brands include Sierra, Canyon, Denali, Yukon, and Hummer. Each GMC pickup line has several models, such as All Terrain, AT4X, and AT4X AEV Edition. Consumers can get Canyon All Terrain or Sierra HD All Terrain. These are older models.

The latest GMC Sierra and Canyon sub-brands include AT4, 1500 AT4, HD AT4, EV AT4, AT4X, 1500 AT4X, HD AT4X, AT4X AEV Edition, 1500 AT4X AEV Edition, and HD AT4X AEV Edition. All these options make GMC the go-to automaker for off-road trucks. [2]

GMC is known for its trucks and utility vehicles. The brand celebrated the 25^th anniversary of its Denali brand in 2024. However, US GMC sales for Q4 2023 decreased by 7% to 134,296 units.

The automaker sold 10,774 Acadias, 3,107 Canyons, 2,028 Hummers, 2,527 Savanas, 79,510 Sierras, 17,229 Terrains, and 19,121 Yukons. US GMC annual sales increased 9% to 563,677 units, driven by high demand for Sierra 1500 and Sierra HD pickup trucks. [3]

GMC stays ahead of the competition by refreshing its lineup annually. The latest offerings include the all-new 2024 GMC Acadia and 2024 GMC Sierra Denali Ultimate, sold in a dozen countries worldwide.

GMC closed 2023 with the best annual US retail sales since 2017.

In Jan 2024, the brand confirmed its global expansion into three new international markets: China, Australia, and New Zealand. The move came after GMC posted double-digit sales growth outside the US in 2023, including 10% in Canada, 15% in the Middle East, and 14.4% in Mexico. But who owns GMC? [4]

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Who is GMC’s Parent Company?

GMC is a wholly-owned brand and division of General Motors (GM), America’s largest auto manufacturer. GM was founded in 1908 by William Durant, 3 years before he formed GMC. The parent company and its subsidiary are based in Detroit, Michigan. In Dec 2023, General Motors had around 163,000 employees. [5]

GMC is synonymous with GM. However, the parent company owns Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Holden, Baojun, Jiefang, Wuling, and Cruise. GMC is GM’s trucks and utility vehicles division.

In Dec 2023, GM laid off 1,314 employees at two Michigan factories after a one-year EV production delay. The affected models include the GMC Sierra EV and Chevrolet Silverado EV. [6]

The main competitive advantage of GM is its iconic and valuable auto brands. GMC, Buick, Chevrolet, and Cadillac have been manufacturing vehicles for over 100 years. 2023 US GM sales increased by 14.1% to 2.6 million units.

GMC and Cadillac sales surged 9%. Buick rose 61%, and Chevrolet increased 13%. The parent company benefited from lower supply chain disruptions and sustained customer demand in 2023. [7]

GM is America’s top-selling carmaker, followed by Toyota. The parent company sells GMC with Buick or Chevy in the same dealerships to provide more options under one roof. In Nov 2023, GMC inventory levels stood at 73 days supply.

GM dealerships have enough GMCs to last for 73 days at the prevailing supply-demand pace. GMC’s inventory level was higher than the 71 industry average, Cadillac’s at 61, and Chevy’s at 71 but lower than Buick’s at 106 days. [8]

Image Credit: Wesley Tingey

GMC’s Ownership History

GMC traces its origins to 1900 when Max and Morris Grabowsky founded the Grabowsky Motor Company. The brothers moved to Pontiac, Michigan, and changed their firm’s name to Rapid Motor Vehicle Company.

William Durant founded General Motors in 1908 and expanded it through strategic acquisitions. He purchased Reliance Motor Car Company, Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, and the Elmore plant with all its assets between 1908 and 1909. [9]

The Elmore plant employed about 400 workers and produced four GM cars daily by 1911. GM formed the General Motors Truck Company in 1911 and integrated Rapid and Reliance automakers into it.

The new division was later renamed GMC, with the former Rapid Motor Plant 1 in Pontiac, Michigan, as its HQ and home to all GM truck production.

Durant added Buick, Chevrolet, Oakland, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac to GM’s portfolio. He restructured GM auto brands to target different consumer segments. In 1920, Durant created a common GM-A platform shared by all GM cars to cut production costs.

GMC and Chevrolet have been linked for over 100 years. Although both brands share platforms, GMC focused on commercial customers while Chevrolet targeted private users. GM still uses this approach. Its all-electric vehicles will share the all-new Ultium platform. [10]

GMC had expanded its product lines by the 1940s to include the P-series highway coach bus, the A-Series medium duty truck, and the T, AC, C, and E series light duty trucks. The GM division produced over 600,000 military vehicles for the US Armed Forces engaged in WWII.

In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, GMC introduced several models and cemented its position as a leading truck company. [11]

General Motors Truck Company rebranded several times before settling on GMC. In 1999, GM purchased the rights to produce and market the Hummer from AM General. The parent company integrated Hummer into the GMC brand and delivered Hummer H1, H2, and H3.

Hummer sales surged from 831 vehicles in 1999 to 71,524 units in 2006. Unfortunately, the Hummer brand was discontinued after GM filed for bankruptcy in 2009. GM’s old shares were delisted from the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). In 2010, the parent company relaunched with an IPO of new GM stocks. [12]

GM and its GMC division are reviving the Hummer brand. The parent company announced the all-electric Hummer EV in 2020. This model is similar to the H2, but it is powered by three electric motors that deliver 1,000 horsepower.

As of May 2022, GM had received over 65,000 Hummer EV pre-orders. Hummer EV was sold out before production started. [13]

Image Credit: Sahand Piryaei

GMC’s Shareholder Structure

GMC is a wholly-owned GM division specializing in pickup trucks and utility vehicles. GM’s shareholder structure has insiders, institutional owners, and individual investors. As of Dec 2023, GM offered 1,140,958,039 Stock A shares with one vote. The figure includes 1,137,350,168 free-float shares. [14]

GM has 1,679 institutional investors. As of Dec 2023, BlackRock Inc. was GM’s largest institutional shareholder, with 10.66% of the company. This stake represents 121,682,468 shares. Vanguard Group is GM’s second-largest shareholder with 8.41%, followed by State Street Corp at 5.23%, Capital World Investors at 3.73%, Harris Associates at 3.1%, and Geode Capital at 2.05%.

Other top players include Capital Research Global at 2.14%, Bank of America at 2.06%, Greenhaven Associates at 2.03%, and Putnam Investments at 1.75%. [15]

GM insiders, like the CEO, CFO, and Directors, own around 0.29% of the company. As of Feb 2024, CEO Mary Barra was GM’s largest individual shareholder with 1,763,680 shares.

Barra has been GM CEO since Jan 2014. GM President Mark Reuss is the second-largest shareholder with 326,907 shares, followed by CFO Paul Jacobson at 236,872 and General Counsel Craig Glidden at 174,046.

Other insiders holding shares include Executive VP Doug Parks, Stephen Carlisle, Julian Blissett, Gerald Johnson, Christopher Hato, and Rory Harvey. [16]

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