Hyperdrive
GM to Exit Australia, Retire Holden Brand in $1.1 Billion Overhaul
- Automaker withdrawing Chevrolet from Thailand by year end
- Company to focus on self-driving cars and electric vehicles
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General Motors Co. will leave Australia, New Zealand and Thailand by year end as it exits poor-performing markets and focuses on new technologies such as self-driving cars and electric vehicles.
The largest U.S. automaker will take $1.1 billion in charges mostly in the first quarter, of which $300 million will be in cash, to cover the costs of leaving those markets, it said in a statement. The restructuring marks the end of the 164-year-old Holden brand in Australia, while in Thailand, GM is withdrawing the Chevrolet badge and selling its Rayong plant to China’s Great Wall Motor Co.