GM's Home-Market Warning Surfaces Amid Chinese Rival Pressure

Reports from Sept. 24-26 detail a General Motors warning on its US business, as Detroit automakers lose ground to Asian rivals

General Motors' outlook for its home market has come under strain, according to reports from Sept. 24 to 26 covering a warning on the company's US business. The reports followed comments from Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson on truck deliveries and renewed concern over Chinese automakers gaining ground in the United States.

Cox Automotive projects GM's US sales pace will fall 6.2% year-to-date through Sept. 30, with market share slipping to 16.7% from 17.4% a year earlier. The firm's broader forecast shows the Detroit Three, GM, Ford and Stellantis, falling to just over 36% of US market share, the lowest level on record, with Asian brands accounting for more than half of new-vehicle sales for a second straight quarter.

GM shares closed at $80.57 on Sept. 24, down 3.82% that day and down 7.2% for the month to date. The stock's slide came during the same stretch in which the warning on the truck business and the pressure from Chinese rivals emerged. GM has not yet reported third-quarter results; those are due Oct. 20.

The United States and China are finalizing terms of a narrower trade deal due Monday, including tariff exemptions on farm, medical and low-tech goods. China's industrial profit growth slowed to 15.7% year-over-year through August, easing from July's 17.6% pace. The shift toward steadier US-China relations removes some risk of escalating tariffs that could have weighed further on Detroit's automakers, but it does nothing to address the structural pressure on GM's margins at home, where Chinese competitors continue to gain share even as trade tensions ease.