Dive Brief:
- General Motors Vice President of Global Commercial Operations Steve Hill will succeed EVP Julian Blissett as president of GM China, effective June 1.
- Blissett has decided to retire after a 28-year career with the automaker, according to a news release. Based in Shanghai, he has overseen all of GM’s operations in China since April 2020, leading the division through a period of “significant growth and change” while navigating the coronavirus pandemic, GM said in the release.
- Hill, who has been with the company since 2008, held previous key roles as vice president of U.S. sales, service and marketing, and global vice president of customer care and after-sales.
Dive Insight:
In his new role, Hill will join GM’s senior leadership team, reporting to Roy Harvey, EVP and president of global markets at the automaker. Hill will be based in Shanghai.
“I am excited and energized by this new role, where I can leverage my experience in building strong relationships with partners, driving sales, and developing world-class purchase and ownership experiences for our customers, in one of the most competitive markets in the world,” Hill said in the release.
Although GM has lost market share in China in recent years, CEO Mary Barra said the company remains committed to China for the long term.
“We believe that it's a market that, over the medium term, will have substantial growth,” she said during GM’s Q1 earnings call last month. “We're continuing to draw on not only our global solutions but, in some cases, local solutions as we advance our electrification strategy.”
As the company’s leader in China, Hill will be tasked with advancing the electrification of GM’s portfolio in China, Harvey said.
GM and its joint ventures delivered over 441,000 vehicles in China in Q1 2024, 128,000 of which were new energy vehicles. The automaker plans to launch more than 15 Ultium-based EVs across brands in China by 2025.
