U.S. automakers like GM are rapidly losing ground in China, once an engine for growth

DEROIT – General Motors CEO Mary Barra has been aggressive in exiting unprofitable or underperforming markets over the past decade, but leaving the automaker's latest problematic country would be far more difficult than others.

China was once a profit engine for GM, and its top sales market from 2010 to 2023. But the automaker lost $106 million there during the first quarter, only its third quarterly loss in the country in at least 15 years and the largest outside of the coronavirus pandemic during that time.

It comes after a nearly decade-long slide in profits and market share for GM in China that has some industry watchers questioning whether the automaker can turn around the operations, or if it would be better to exit the country – an unimaginable prospect just a few years ago.

Barra, who visited China recent during an auto show in Beijing, said GM remains committed to the market, which the company entered through a joint venture in 1997.

"Over the long term, we're committed to China. We believe that it's a market that, over the medium term, will have substantial growth," she said during GM's quarterly earnings call on April 23.

The comments came months after Barra told investors in February that "nothing is off the table in ensuring that GM has a strong future to generate the right profitability and the right return for our investors" in China.

GM CFO Paul Jacobson last week told investors that the company expects the operations to return to profitability this year, with results similar or slightly lower than its roughly $446 million profit in 2023. He attributed the first-quarter loss to production downtime designed to reduce built-up vehicle inventory.

The automaker's fall from grace in the country is staggering amid