The market is supposed to once again deliver an alibi for managerial failure and lacking intuition for the market. The Adam Opel AG, belonging to General Motors - formerly Europe’s biggest automotive manufacturer - is going to lay off thousands of employees, lower capacities, possibly even close down factories and, with the help of a platform concept hostile to brands, which is highly praised in the automotive industry, destroy brand profiles.

It is currently being much discussed what the reason is for General Motors to rush from one Waterloo to the next. It started in the 50’s that their American brands disappeared more or less totally from European streets and ends with one of their European brands after another being laid to rest. If we want to learn from the mistakes of others, we can learn from the case of General Motors that one has to beware of powerless brand marketing. That there are many things you are allowed to do, just not positioning yourself in the center of the market. Those are the true mistakes General Motors made and is still making if we believe that a new strategy is supposed to bring an end to a hapless time.

Powerless brand marketing. We can assume, without being accused of speculating, that those responsible for marketing were able, through research, knowledge and creativity, to convincingly illustrate to the members of the board on both sides of the ocean what the market in Europe expects of General Motors. If the company still didn’t produce what the market wanted, then brand management has failed. And initially, that has nothing to do with additional wage costs.

And then the “lost center”. Brands such as Opel and Vauxhall are brands which represent the middle class of the past. And this middle class is long ago outdated through the “small luxury class” from BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen. But also from Renault, Peugeot and the nimble Japanese, who once upon a time learned from the Europeans and today could be a master for successful automotive engineering globally. And when it comes to Saab specifically, then General Motors is working on pressing this last foothold in the “small luxury class” down to the platform concept at Opel level without noticing that Saab drivers aren’t Opel drivers, not even when terminology juggling is supposed to cover up all of this.

If General Motors wants to successfully align itself once again in Europe, then the company has to leave the center of the market and demand competitive strategies from brand marketing, which should lead to products inspiring customers.