© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Vehicles of car brands belonging to General Motors Company at a car dealership in Queens, New York, U.S., November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
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By José Blanco
DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors (NYSE ) Chief Executive Mary Barra will face the challenge on Tuesday of convincing investors that the No. 1 U.S. automaker won't be stuck in the same slow lane this year. than Tesla (NASDAQ and other rivals.
Tesla's warning last week that it expected a year of slow growth and continued price pressure weighed on shares of other automakers.
GM has already lowered its 2023 profit forecast and told investors that its new U.S. contract with the United Auto Workers union will add $9.3 billion in costs.
A $10 billion share buyback and a 33% increase in the dividend announced in late November lifted the company's share price from its lowest level in three years. But GM stock is down about 19% from its 52-week high and has held steady for 2024 so far.
Barra's growth prospects in North America and China, GM's two main markets, will be just one topic on Tuesday. Forecasters are calling for single-digit percentage growth in U.S. vehicle demand and more downward pressure on prices.
In China, GM sales fell 8.9% in 2023 from a year earlier, and demand for the Buick and Chevrolet brands fell nearly 20% and 15% respectively as Chinese automakers gain market share. market.
Analysts will also focus on the outlook for GM's electric vehicle and technology bets.
GM revealed last week that its Cruise robotaxi unit is under investigation by the US Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators. Cruise halted operations after one of its cars dragged a pedestrian down a San Francisco street.
Barra has said cruise technology could generate $50 billion a year in revenue by 2030, but the unit's effort to increase revenue-generating travel is in limbo.
US demand growth for electric vehicles has shown signs of slowing. Ford (NYSE:) reduced production of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck to one shift and added a production shift at a factory that makes combustion-powered Bronco SUVs.
Despite the uncertain market outlook, GM is trying to accelerate deliveries of its next generation of electric vehicles in North America after struggling with bottlenecks in Ultium battery production last year.
GM sold just 12,859 of its Ultium electric vehicles in 2023. Its best-selling electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Bolt, went out of production.
Barra told investors in October that production of Ultium vehicles more than doubled in the third quarter.
