GM is going to stop selling cars in India, and South Africa, by the end of 2017. A few months ago, GM sold off most of its European sales operation, too.
Maybe this is all just about profit margins and exiting underperforming markets to focus on stronger ones. Ford is reducing 10% of its workforce, for similar reasons.
But it’s also easy to imagine these are early steps in a longer-term disruption of the automotive industry — a change from automotive sales to mobility.
To be sure, consumer automotive sales will continue for a long time, especially in rural areas. But the bright future of automotive manufacturers probably lies in fleet sales to ride sharing companies, or maybe even becoming ride sharing companies themselves. Pulling back from foreign markets might be part of that trend.
David Silver 