mediaOnline

FOR RELEASE: December 5, 2000

CONTACT(S):
Maria Eugenia Santiago, LAAM HQ
(305)364-4539

Luiz Fanfa, GM do Brasil
55-11-4234-7005

Ryndee Carney, eGM, Detroit, MI
(313)665-3121

GM Internet Sales Model Breaks Ground In Brazil

Market Responds To The First High-Volume Internet Sales Model Of The Automotive World

Detroit, Michigan - Today General Motors announced early results from the recently launched Celta Internet sales system, which was designed for the new subeconomy Brazilian car, the Chevrolet Celta. Of the more than 15,500 Celta cars sold since its launch on September 17, 8,679 have been sold via the exclusive site <www.celta.com.br>.

The company expects that within the next few months, more than eighty percent (80%) of all Celta sales will be completed online.

The Celta's exclusive site www.celta.com.br offers the most complete Internet purchase experience offered by any manufacturer in Brazil. It includes online financing options, a comprehensive tracking system, online payment options as well as two parallel websites, <www.atendimentocelta.com.br> and <concessionaria.celta.com.br> for the exclusive use of Celta customer service representatives and Chevrolet dealers respectively.

This Celta business model is based on four key pillars:

e-commerce
one price
direct invoicing
fast delivery to the customer.

"The Celta business model, from the vehicle itself to the sales process, comprehends a true business partnership with GM's Chevrolet dealers in Brazil, with all sales - whether online or generated through the traditional model - facilitated by the dealership," said Fritz Henderson, GM group vice president and president of GM Latin America, Africa & MidEast.

The car's unique design, the advanced manufacturing systems of the Gravatai car plant, five distribution centers (VSCs) located throughout the country, a powerful network of 470 Chevrolet dealers and an ambitious team of GM employees are among the critical, Brazil-specific elements that have enabled the first high-volume Internet sales system of the automotive world.

The Chevrolet Celta Internet Experience

GMB's cybercustomer can purchase a Celta simply by accessing the www.celta.com.br website. The Celta website allows the customer to:

Configure the Celta of their choice - Select options like color, create and view a graphic model
Locate dealership - Using a dealer locator, the customer can link to the dealer closest to the invoice address. At showroom kiosks, the dealer host is automatically selected.
Select Payment Option - Financing available. GM Bank offers online credit approval.
Purchase direct from GMB - The specific Celta can be reserved with $1000 Reais paid with a credit card or at the dealership with cash or check. The outstanding balance can be paid at the bank with cash or check using a special bank slip ("boleto bancario") available through the website.
Direct Invoice from GMB - The reservation fee automatically triggers the vehicle invoicing process.
Follow Up - Customers can check status of credit pre-approval, order, payments, and the location of the vehicle.
Confirm delivery information - Upon locating the car, customers are provided the approximate date of delivery. The dealer contacts the customer to confirm this information. Once the system is fully implemented, it will take anywhere between 4 and 7 days for delivery.
Customize/Personalize - Photos of car accessories available through the dealership can be added to the customers graphic model of their Celta. These can be selected online and purchased separately at the dealership.

E-Commerce - Brazil's dynamic, high-potential Internet and automotive context

GM's Internet sales strategy for the Chevrolet Celta seeks to capitalize on two key trends in Brazil: (1) the large "popular car" segment that represents nearly 70% of an automotive market primarily driven by price (2) the country's speed in adopting Internet technologies even within the demographic groups who do not own a computer.

Accustomed to electronic ballots at voting booths and Internet submission of tax returns close to 90%, Brazilians are comfortable with technology in their daily life. Studies show that the number of Brazilian Internet users could grow more than 350% by the year 20031. In fact, among the most optimistic surveys is one which suggests that the potential of Internet use in Brazil may be higher than anticipated. Up to 14 million Brazilians are currently online, of which around six million surf the Internet from remote sites like school, cybercafes and work.2 On the automotive side, automotive industry studies of new car buyers point out that 65% of these have Internet access, including a significant percentage of the Celta's target market.3

GMBs challenge has been to bridge the gap between Internet use and new car buying patterns in Brazil through a completely new sales and distribution model.

"We're still scratching the surface of a terrain with enormous potential. Our challenge is to bridge the gap between Internet use and new car buying patters in Brazil with an efficient sales and distribution model that provides the most complete online purchasing experience for the greatest number of potential customers possible," said Fritz Henderson, GM group vice president and president GM Latin America, Africa & MidEast.

Customers can connect with www.celta.com.br from a remote site like home or from Celta kiosks at dealer showrooms where they can surf, begin or complete a transaction at their leisure. GMB's goal was to create an outstanding yet flexible shopping experience that combines the comfort and convenience of the Internet with the comfort elements of "brick & mortar" retailing. The company also seeks to satisfy Brazilians who would prefer to see and possibly test drive a totally new car like the Celta before completing the purchase.

"Together with our dealer partners, we have stepped out of our comfort zone and broken ground so that Brazilian consumers can have the right car, at the right place, at the right time and at the right price," said Walter Wieland, president & managing director, GM do Brazil.

Fast-Delivery...Of the vehicle I want

The Celta Internet sales channel allows customers to configure and even buy the car of their choice online, 24 hours a day. They can also locate their car, reserve it, and continue to track it at the Gravatai plant, at one of the five distribution centers, in-transit or at the dealership, which also communicates with the customer throughout this process. In other words, for the first time, the client is empowered to the extent that even when the showroom is closed he/she can close a sale, or follow-up on the status of the purchase.

A detailed analysis of market preferences, regional purchase patterns and logistics requirements have prepared GMB to break ground in targeting unprecedented delivery times of between 4-to-7 days to 99% of the vast country. It is important to note that despite the immense and diverse geography of Brazil, short delivery times are possible thanks to the Celta's unique design conceived from the get-go in limited combinations so that it is likely that the Celta of a customer's choice exists somewhere near its final destination. Five distribution centers strategically located throughout Brazil will fulfill Internet orders for specific vehicles.

One-Price...Direct Invoicing...No Mystery

The Celta website (www.celta.com.br) offers the vehicle at only one price, including taxes and delivery by freight to anywhere in the country. The "one-price" feature, lower than that of a traditional purchase is a very attractive sales point for Brazilian customers.

First, a blanket price brings greater level of perceived transparency, safety and comfort to the Internet purchase experience - especially during the earlier stages of implementation.

Second, the unprecedented level of efficiency from vehicle design, to manufacturing, to distribution, to the ordering and delivery process, has enabled GM to offer a set a lower Internet price that makes the Celta the best value for its customers. A fully-integrated, seamless process allowed for a variety of savings, in -- for example-- taxes and inventory costs for both GM and dealers.

Also, learnings from around the world including GM's Saturn Division in the United States contributed to the Celta's one-price policy. Having deleted price negotiation from the purchasing experience, Brazilian dealers will focus on the service aspects of the transaction, including accessories, trade-ins, GM Card bonuses, etc. -- adding significant value to the convenience of an Internet transaction.

Moreover, the simplicity of a Celta Internet purchase can be personalized further with the support of a dealer. Celta accessories, such as an alarm system or sporty body accessories, can be selected online but are sold and installed at dealerships. In yet another first, GMB designed a process through which suppliers deliver accessories straight to dealer, saving freight, handling and inventory costs while reducing tax charges to the customer.

The New Chevrolet Celta...Pride of GM do Brazil

The Chevrolet Celta was developed at GM do Brazil's Technical Center in Sao Caetano do Sul, Sao Paulo by the expert team that designed the successful line of Chevrolet small and economy passenger cars including the Corsa 4-door sedan, pickup and station wagon.

The Celta was conceived as a "popular" car for the subeconomy segment -- with ideal characteristics for emerging markets. In Brazil, popular car status requires a 1.0 liter engine and entails a lower tax structure that promotes its affordability.

Engineers at GMB's Cruz Alta Proving Ground conducted intensive laboratory and performance tests measuring every aspect including crash worthiness - to ensure that the Celta embodied the best value in the market, not only in terms of price and content, but in terms of quality and safety as well. The Celta is available in two versions, base and with an optional package, and in five exterior colors.

The Groundbreaking Gravatai Automotive Complex, Home of the Chevrolet Celta

The Celta is manufactured at the Gravatai Automotive Complex, inaugurated last July by the president of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Jack Smith, Chairman of General Motors Corporation. The complex was designed to be among the most efficient in the world.

The Gravatai Automotive Complex entails two main concepts: an extremely lean and efficient vehicle production system and a newly-built industrial site referred to as an "industrial condominium."

General Motors and sixteen world-class suppliers joined forces and shared a wealth of global experiences to create an extremely efficient automotive complex that functions as one single plant. The GMB supplier team that makes up the Gravatai Automotive Industrial Complex represents 60% fewer suppliers and 50% fewer parts than would be necessary in a traditional manufacturing system.

At Gravatai, the traditional component development cycle was replaced by a co-development process between GM and its system suppliers. The most notably different element of production is that the GM vehicle assembly plant receives pre-assembled modules delivered just-in-time by neighboring suppliers that share space at strategic entry locations to the production line.

Among the advantages enabled by the Gravatai production model are increased speed by shortening routes, low inventories, the reduction of bottlenecks, quick correction of problems, lower costs, and most importantly, the ability to build a high-quality, competitively priced small car, the Chevrolet Celta.

GM do Brazil , established in 1925, is comprised of manufacturing complexes at Sao Caetano do Sul, Sao Jose dos Campos, Mogi das Cruces and Gravatai: two parts distribution centers at Sorocaba and Mogi das Cruces; a Proving Ground at Indaiatuba; administrative offices at several locations and Banco General Motors in Sao Paulo. The company markets vehicles under the Chevrolet and GMC brands.

1 Jupiter Communications 2000
2 IBOPE eRatings 2000
3 NCBS, New Car Buyers Survey