General Motors General Motors General Motors Company, commonly referred to as General Motors (GM), is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Detroit that designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes vehicles and vehicle parts, and sells financial services, with global headquarters in Detroit's Renaissance Center. It was originally founded by William C. Durant on September 16, 1908 as a holding company. The company is the largest American automobile manufacturer, and one of the world's largest. As of 2018, General Motors is ranked #10 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. General Motors manufactures vehicles in 37 countries;
General Motors was among the world's largest automakers by vehicle unit sales. General Motors acts in most countries outside the U.S. via wholly owned subsidiaries, but operates in China through 10 joint ventures. GM's OnStar subsidiary provides vehicle safety, security and information services. In 2009, General Motors shed several brands, closing Saturn, Pontiac, and Hummer, and emerged from a government-backed Chapter 11 reorganization. In 2010, the reorganized GM made an initial public offering that was one of the world's top five largest IPOs to date, and returned to profitability later that year. General Motors Company was formed on September 16, 1908, in