American automobile major General Motors (GM) has entered an agreement with a third-party inventory management company to ensure access to future supply of critical parts. As part of the arrangement, GM has set up a USD 4.5 billion purchasing facility, under which it will arrange for an outside firm, Procura Auto Parts, to purchase certain parts from suppliers, freeing up the carmaker’s working capital.
“The program is aimed at securing certain critical inventory GM would need to continue making cars in the event of supply chain disruptions, such as natural disasters, a cyberattack, or excess demand,” GM said.
Banks including JPMorgan Chase and Santander will fund Procura, backed by GM’s payment guarantees, that will last three years.
Procura, which has been in the inventory management business since 2015, operates from London, Frankfurt, and New York. It buys, sells, and manages commercial goods and materials.
General Motors’ latest move aligns with the automobile industry’s post-pandemic reality, in which ventures have more actively managed supply chains by collaborating with third-party inventory management companies to stay ahead of the curve in crucial fronts like computer chips.
General Motors has also renewed its joint venture with China’s SAIC Motor Corp for another 20 years. Through this, the American automaker will now use China as an export hub amid rising competition from Chinese brands in and outside their home market.
The extension followed GM’s lengthy restructuring in the world’s largest automobile market that included plant closures and the elimination of some models, amid growing pressure from the likes of BYD.
The development also shows one thing: despite tensions between Washington and Beijing, American companies are still finding it tough to entirely wean themselves from reliance on China for revenue, low-cost manufacturing, and technology know-how.
The extended GM-SAIC 50-50 joint venture will result in more vehicle-development work getting done in the world’s largest auto market to appeal to local tastes.
“GM will ship Buicks and Cadillacs from China to the Middle East, Africa, South America, Mexico, and elsewhere in Asia, starting with the exports of the China-developed Buick Electra series later this year,” the Detroit automaker said.
SAIC said in a separate statement that the renewed partnership would allow China’s “local innovation to be shared globally.”
GM was one of the first global automakers to enter China by stitching a coveted partnership with SAIC in 1997. It quickly became one of the country’s top-selling carmakers. However, by 2025, GM’s sales figures in the world’s largest car market dropped to less than half of their 2017 peak of over four million vehicles. Buick, Chevrolet, and Cadillac models have been outsold by homegrown Chinese brands due to a limited lineup of competitive electric vehicles.
While GM will focus on its Cadillac and Buick brands in China while discontinuing Chevrolet sales in the country, the latter will still be produced and exported through GM’s separate joint venture with SAIC and Wuling.
SAIC-GM, which plans to launch at least 30 electric or hybrid vehicles by 2030, is looking to build a portfolio of locally developed products. In 2025, the JV launched the “Buick Electra” series, with advanced powertrain and intelligent features absent in its US-designed vehicles.
The Electra E7 SUV had more than 10,000 sales in its first month on the market. From October 2026, it will also become the JV’s first premium export model.
The joint-venture automaker has no plans to export to the United States, as tariffs and national security policies aimed at China-developed technology have kept the Asian giant out of the American market.