General Motors Company (GM) Citi's Global Industrial Tech & Mobility Conference 2026 summary

Business performance and strategy

• Entering 2026 with a sense of stability and disciplined execution, focusing on overcoming obstacles and maintaining resilience through market challenges.

• Capital allocation priorities remain unchanged: investing in the business, maintaining a strong balance sheet, and returning cash to shareholders.

• Launch of new trucks and increased domestic manufacturing capacity are expected to support growth and manage tariff impacts.

• Lower inventory levels (30%-40% less than before) enable faster market response, improved cash flow, and higher margins.

• Focus on cash generation to fund future growth, balancing ICE and EV portfolios to meet evolving customer and regulatory demands.

Operational discipline and cultural transformation

• Shift from prioritizing volume to emphasizing cash flow and margin, resulting in $3-$4 billion in improved cash performance.

• Stronger relationships with dealers and suppliers, fostering mutual benefit and stability in the supply chain.

• Enhanced decision-making speed and adaptability, driven by leadership changes and lessons from recent crises.

• Proactive management of inventory and production cycles to avoid deepening industry troughs and reduce self-induced cyclicality.

• Onshoring production balances tariff costs with higher labor expenses, while increasing supply chain control and flexibility.

Electric vehicles (EVs) and regulatory environment

• Continued investment in EVs, focusing on profitability and technology improvements rather than product proliferation.

• EV demand is expected to grow gradually, with penetration rates around 5%-7% and a focus on rational, sustainable growth.

• Cost parity with ICE vehicles remains a challenge, with battery costs and scale as key factors; new battery technologies are expected to reduce costs by thousands per vehicle.

• Regulatory changes have led to strategic resets, with a focus on long-term sustainability and adaptability to shifting policies.

• EV incentives and regulatory credits have influenced demand, but a more natural demand environment is seen as healthier for the business.