General Motors CorporationGeneral Motors Corporation Annual 2003AnnualReport Report 2003 General Motors Corporation Renaissance Center P.O. Box 300 Detroit, MI 48265-3000 www.gm.com drive: 4000-AR-2003 Contents General Information 2 Letter to Stockholders 44 Management’s Discussion and Analysis 4 Financial Highlights 57 Independent Auditors’ Report 8 Drive: Great products 58 Consolidated Financial Statements Common Stock savings plan participants may enroll at GM Customer Assistance Centers 18 Drive: Design 65 Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements GM common stock, $1-2/3 par value, is listed www.econsent.com/gm. Beneficial stockholders, To request product information or to receive 24 Drive: Markets 96 Board of Directors and Committees on the New York Stock Exchange and on other who hold their GM stock through a broker or assistance with your vehicle, please 32 Drive: Further 98 Officers and Operating Executives exchanges in the United States and around bank, may sign up at www.icsdelivery.com/gm contact the appropriate marketing unit: 38 Drive: Choices IBC General Information the world. if their broker or bank participates in electronic 42 Drive: Commitment Chevrolet: 800-222-1020 delivery. Ticker symbol: GM Pontiac: 800-762-2737 Securities and Institutional Analyst Queries Oldsmobile: 800-442-6537 Annual Meeting GM Investor Relations Buick: 800-521-7300 The GM Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be General Motors Corporation held at 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday, June 2, 2004, Cadillac: 800-458-8006 Mail Code 482-C34-D71 in Wilmington, Delaware. 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O. Box 300 and September. Consumer: 800-847-2886 Detroit, MI 48265-3000 Mechanical Customer Service Center: 313-667-1500 Visit GM on the Internet 800-631-5590 investor.gm.com Explore the world of General Motors products www.gmacinsurance.com and services on our corporate Web site, Dividend and Cash Investment Plan www.gm.com. Surf our home page to learn If you are a registered owner of at least one about “The Company,” our “Automotive” brands, Other Products and Services share of GM common stock, you may elect to and products and services that go “Beyond GM Card: 800-846-2273 automatically reinvest all or part of your divi- Automotive.” From the home page, you can OnStar: 888-667-8277 dends in additional shares of GM common access our many brand Web sites to discover XM Satellite Radio: 800-852-9696 stock. Contact EquiServe at 800-331-9922 the GM product or service that’s right for you. for a prospectus and enrollment information. Principal Office The prospectus may be viewed online at GM Employee Savings Plans General Motors Corporation investor.gm.com. Participants in the Savings-Stock Purchase 300 Renaissance Center Program or Personal Savings Plan should P. O. Box 300 Electronic Delivery of contact the GM Investment Service Center at Detroit, MI 48265-3000 Annual Meeting Materials 800-489-4646. 313-556-5000 Stockholders may consent to receive their GM annual report and proxy materials via the Internet. Registered stockholders and employee Design: BCN Communications/www.bcncomm.com Printing: Anderson Lithograph Design: BCN Communications/www.bcncomm.com This annual report is printed on paper containing 10% postconsumer waste. Here’s what’s new about GM’s strategy this year: Nothing. Our 2003 plan is the same as 2002. We’re getting better, year by year. More new products than ever and the most exciting lineup in our history. Working more as one global company than ever. More solid financially. And more determined than ever to be the best. Our drive remains strong. We are never satisfied, never complacent; always moving, always forward. General Motors Corporation 1 Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center John Devine Rick Wagoner Bob Lutz Vice Chairman and Chairman and Vice Chairman, Chief Financial Officer Chief Executive Officer Product Development and Chairman, GM North America Dear Stockholders: You know what it’s like when you settle into the driver’s seat of a brand new car and it just feels right? Everything’s where it should be, the leather envelops you, the engine growls as you tap the accelerator, and you just can’t wait to hit the open road. Well, that’s the feeling we’re aiming for behind the wheel of General Motors, as we continue our drive to be the best at everything we do. 2 General Motors Corporation 2003 was an encouraging year along that road. Not That allowed us to fully fund our U.S. salaried and hourly because our results fully met our expectations. They didn’t. employee pension plans, a move that few would have pre- No doubt, there are places where we have plenty of room to dicted possible at the start of 2003, when these plans were improve. And improve we will. nearly $18 billion underfunded. Rather, 2003 was encouraging because we made a great While we are pleased with this progress, we are not sat- deal of progress – progress that tells us we’re focused on the isfied with our performance. right things, that our strategy is sound, that we’re driving GM We understand our job is to drive stronger results – con- in the right direction. sumers truly excited about our cars and trucks, our sales and And the most important and compelling evidence of this market share rising, our quality improving and our financials is in our car and trucks. stronger. GM has the best vehicles we’ve ever had, and there are While our market share increased in Asia Pacific, Europe many more on the way, establishing a very solid foundation and our Latin America, Africa and Middle East (LAAM) region, for our future growth. We’re working together globally as never we fell short of our goal to have a third consecutive annual before, leveraging our considerable resources – not the least share increase in the United States, our largest market. of which is the talent of our people all around the world – to A weak first quarter got us off to a poor start in 2003, and develop exciting new products. And we’re getting those new even though our share was up significantly in the second cars and trucks to market faster and at the highest levels of half, it wasn’t enough. This year we are refocused on per- quality in our history. forming more consistently throughout the year. At the same time, we’re staying aggressive in the market- We still face some significant challenges in the place, our cost competitiveness continues to improve, and coming year: we’re getting stronger by many financial measures. It’s a good ● Our automotive earnings weakened in 2003, due largely plan, and we’re sticking to it. to the higher “legacy costs” of our pension and health- care obligations for our large U.S. retiree base. We are Driving Results determined to improve profitability in our core business In 2003, GM earned $3.8 billion on record revenue of and further strengthen our balance sheet, fund our future $185.5 billion, or $7.14 earnings per share of GM common products and growth plan, and create shareholder value. stock. Excluding our former Hughes Electronics subsidiary We plan to do this by sticking to our strategy: introducing and special items, earnings totaled $3.2 billion or $5.62 per great cars and trucks; staying aggressive in the market- share. These results were achieved despite a generally chal- place; reducing costs and improving quality; and generat- lenging economic environment around the world – in large ing more cash.