General Motors Corporation 2004 Annual Report Hands on the wheel. Eyes on the road. Contents 2 Financial Highlights 42 Corporate and Social Responsibility 3 Letter to Stockholders 44 Management’s Discussion and Analysis 8 Drive more great new cars and trucks. 59 Independent Auditors’ Report 20 Drive breakthrough technology. 60 Consolidated Financial Statements 26 Drive one company further. 67 Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 32 Drive more dreams to reality. 102 Board of Directors and Committees 36 Drive to a bright new future. 104 Senior Leadership Group 40 At a Glance Inside Back Cover General Information We’re on the right road. Our cars and trucks are getting better all the time. Our quality is now back among the best in the industry. We’re stronger and more globally integrated than ever. But it’s not enough. The world is not standing still while we improve. We have to be faster. Bolder. Better. With our hands fi rmly guiding the wheel and eyes focused confi dently on the road ahead, that’s what we’re determined to do. Financial Highlights (Dollars in millions, except per share amounts) Years ended December 31, 2004 2003 2002 Total net sales and revenues $193,517 $185,837 $177,867 Worldwide wholesale sales (units in thousands) 8,241 8,098 8,411 Income from continuing operations $÷÷2,805 $÷÷2,862 $÷÷1,975 (Loss) from discontinued operations – $÷÷÷(219) $÷÷÷(239) Gain on sale of discontinued operations – $÷÷1,179 – Net income $÷÷2,805 $÷÷3,822 $÷÷1,736 Net profi t margin from continuing operations 1.4% 1.5% 1.1% Diluted earnings per share attributable to $1-2/3 par value common stock Continuing operations $÷÷÷4.95 $÷÷÷5.03 $÷÷÷3.51 Net income $÷÷÷4.95 $÷÷÷7.14 $÷÷÷3.35 Income adjusted to exclude Hughes Electronics and special items (1) Income $÷÷3,630 $÷÷3,197 $÷÷3,924 Diluted earnings per share attributable to $1-2/3 par value common stock $÷÷÷6.40 $÷÷÷5.62 $÷÷÷6.98 Book value per share of $1-2/3 par value common stock $÷÷49.06 $÷÷44.96 $÷÷÷9.06 Number of $1-2/3 par value common stock shares outstanding as of December 31 (in millions) 565 562 560 (1) A reconciliation of adjusted amounts to amounts determined in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States may be found at www.gm.com/company/investor information/, Earnings Releases, Financial Highlights. Net Sales Income from Net Profit Margin from Earnings per Share from and Revenues Continuing Operations Continuing Operations Continuing Operations billions billions percent dollars $193.5 $2.9 1.5% $4.95 $5.03 $185.8 $2.8 $177.9 1.4% 1.1% $2.0 $3.51 04 03 02 04 03 02 04 03 02 04 03 02 Net sales and revenues Income from continuing Net profit margin from Earnings per share from were $193.5 billion, operations was $2.8 billion, continuing operations was continuing operations up 4.1%. down $0.1 billion. 1.4%, down from 1.5%. decreased to $4.95 from $5.03. 2 General Motors Corporation Dear Stockholders: The cover of this 2004 General Motors Annual Report says, “Hands on the wheel. Eyes on the road.” What exactly does that mean to GM? It means we’re driving ahead with confi dence…and we record for the sixth year in a row, with a profi t of $2.9 billion. are well aware of the obstacles in our path. We are staying GMAC also continued to restructure its balance sheet and focused on designing and building the best-engineered, diversify its funding sources, signifi cantly reducing its risk best-looking, highest-value cars and trucks that provide to adverse credit rating developments. millions of people around the world the freedom of mobility. Our global automotive operations had their second highest As I concluded in last year’s letter to you, becoming the best sales volume in GM’s history, with market share gains in is an unending journey, a constantly changing destination. three of our four regions around the world. We’ve come a long way on that trip. GM’s Latin America, Africa and Middle East region saw a GM has methodically and completely overhauled its opera- return to profi tability and increased its market share to 17.4 tions since its fi nancial crisis in 1992. Better productivity. percent. In Brazil, GM captured the No. 1 position for the Better technology. Better quality. Most important, better fi rst time in its 79 years of operations there. Volume also cars and trucks. was strong in the Middle East, where sales were up 58 percent from a year earlier. Today we’re a far leaner, faster, more competitive and globally integrated company, well-positioned for continued growth. GM Asia Pacifi c continued to deliver very impressive results, While much better, we still have much work to do to become despite a second-half slowdown in China. For the year, GM the best. China’s sales increased 27 percent to nearly 500,000 vehicles, and market share again grew. And GM Daewoo The bumps along the road ahead are numerous and jarring: continues to expand its role in the GM family, with produc- global overcapacity … falling prices … rapidly escalating health- tion expected to grow to more than 1 million vehicles in care costs … unstable fuel prices … increasing competition 2005 as we leverage its considerable engineering and every year. In addition, as GM has improved, so have our manufacturing capabilities. competitors. Elsewhere in 2004, we took signifi cant steps to address But despite these challenges, we continue to see a future some tough challenges. with growth opportunities that make this journey well worth the effort. GM Europe’s losses grew as competition intensifi ed and pricing deteriorated further. In order to address our high-cost Mixed Results in 2004 position, we reached an important agreement in December In 2004, GM earned net income of $3.6 billion excluding with our European labor unions on a major restructuring plan special items, or reported net income of $2.8 billion, on that will help GME signifi cantly improve our cost-competi- record revenues of approximately $193 billion. Solid fi gures, tiveness. On the revenue side of the business, the news at considering the tough competitive conditions in most of our GME was more encouraging as the successful launch of the markets around the globe. But overall, it was a year in which all-new Opel/Vauxhall Astra series helped increase GME’s we did not take the step forward we were aiming for. market share to 9.5 percent, its highest level in fi ve years. There were some noteworthy successes. GMAC reported annual earnings growth for the 10th consecutive year, and a General Motors Corporation 3 In addition, our multi-brand strategy continues to gain speed Looking Back, Looking Forward with the expansion of the Chevrolet and Cadillac brands, As we move forward, it’s useful to pause and look back down which should add to GME’s share growth this year. We also the road we’ve traveled. plan to build on last year’s product success with the introduc- When my predecessor, Jack Smith, took over in 1992, he tion this year of the Saab 9-3 SportCombi, the all-new Opel/ instilled a business philosophy that still guides us today Vauxhall Zafi ra, the Astra 3-door and the Chevrolet Matiz. and is embodied in our cultural priorities: product excellence This February, GM and Fiat Auto S.p.A. announced the termi- and customer focus, act as one company, embrace stretch nation of our joint venture and equity relationship, which targets, and move with a sense of urgency. After more than began in 2000 in an initiative to reduce our cost structure in a decade of driving our business with this philosophy, GM Europe by combining our purchasing and powertrain manu- today operates far differently. facturing activities, and collaborating on future models. The For example, in 1992, we had 27 different purchasing organ- savings from these joint activities over the past fi ve years izations just in North America. Today we have one global and GME’s access to Fiat diesel engines addressed very organization using a common, globally based sourcing critical needs. But as competitive circumstances changed process. Given GM’s size and global footprint, this move for each company, and after several management changes continues to represent a competitive advantage. at Fiat, both companies decided that the joint venture and equity relationship were no longer appropriate. Another area where GM has undergone radical change more recently is in product development, engineering and planning. While the dissolution of the agreement resulted in a charge We have gone from a highly decentralized structure, with 11 to earnings, the resolution enables ongoing cost savings and different engineering centers in the United States alone, to excellent diesel engine capability and availability for GME, a single U.S. engineering organization, and this year to one thus resulting in an overall positive net return to GM on this globally integrated product development organization. The relationship. institution of common business processes and computer In North America, our largest market, automotive profi tability systems, and the ability to fully utilize our global design and was disappointing, refl ecting continuing pricing pressures engineering talents, will mean more new cars and trucks, due to challenging competitive conditions and ever-rising shorter lifecycles, lower costs and higher quality. We see health-care costs (see related item on page 7). many opportunities here going forward. On the positive side, we continued to make progress in the We also see plenty of opportunity ahead in continued produc- key areas of productivity and quality, and several important tivity improvement.