GM China Group President and Managing Director Kevin Wale will retire after nearly 40 years with the maker.
General Motors’ China chief is stepping down – and at a time when an unexpected economic slowdown in the massive Asian market threatens to throw the Chinese auto industry into turmoil.
No specific reason was given for 57-year-old Kevin Wale’s decision to retire though he has been working for the maker for nearly four decades, starting out in his native Australia with GM’s Holden subsidiary at the age of 20.
Wale will be succeeded by Bob Socia, who has been serving since 2009 as GM’s director of global purchasing and supply chain.
“Kevin has been instrumental in strengthening our foundation in the largest vehicle market in the world,” Tim Lee, GM vice president for global manufacturing and president of GM’s International Operations, said in a statement.
New China Chief Bob Socia earned kudos for his work heading GM's purchasing operations.
General Motors was an early entrant into the Chinese car market, former Chairman Jack Smith generating significant controversy with a plan to set up an assembly plant in Shanghai to build Buicks. But the investment has paid off in spades. Since then, the Chinese market has exploded and GM has raced to keep up.
The U.S. maker is already the largest automotive manufacturer in the Asian nation if all its various joint ventures are included. Under Wale, GM has laid out an ambitious plan to double sales to 5 million by mid-decade.
But after years of high double-digit growth that has, at times exceeded annual rates of 70%, the Chinese market has suddenly slowed. During an interview following the Beijing Motor Show, in April, Wale said he expected no more than 7% to 10% growth for all of 2012 after an uncharacteristic dip during the first quarter. Even that forecast now looks upbeat, according to many China hands.
(China sales slow unexpectedly. For more on that story, Click Here.)
Nonetheless, Wale has been able to steer GM clear of the rocks that have hung up some key competitors. Last month, for example, it nearly doubled the overall Chinese market’s pace with a 7.3% increase.
Wale took control of the maker’s Asia Pacific region in 1998 before briefly being rerouted to Europe as chairman and managing director of British-based Vauxhall Motors and vice president of GM of Europe. In 2005 he was sent back to Asia and president and managing director of the GM China Group.
During his tenure GM sales surged from 560,000 to 2.5 million in China, making it the Detroit manufacturer’s single-largest global market.
At 58, Socia may have even broader geographic experience than Wale, GM noted, having worked not only in Europe and Asia but also Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
He began his GM career in 1975 at the Cadillac division. In 2007, Socia was named executive vice chairman of Shanghai GM, the maker’s original Chinese joint venture with SAIC.
Before getting the new assignment, Socia was overseeing the procurement of tens of billions of dollars of parts and components every year, ensuring both high quality and low cost. No replacement for the sourcing job has yet been announced.