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General Motors has just paid the U.S. Treasury back on some of the loans from the auto bailout. General Motors had previously been under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It paid off portions of the loans with interest far ahead of schedule, so apparently they are doing well enough to pay back the overnight loans they got from Capitol Hill.

General Motors makes $ 6 billion payment

General Motors wired the final payment Tuesday night on $ 6 More than $ 1 billion went to the Canadian government, and $ 4.7 billion went to the U.S. Treasury. According to Reuters, the U.S. Treasury confirmed the payment from General Motors as being five years before the loan’s maturity. Part of the TARP program were the loans made to General Motors and Chrysler.

General Motors to begin mass production of Chevy Volt

The plug in hybrid Chevy Volt is hotly awaited, and now being produced. It’s being made in Detroit, at the Hamtramck plant. General Motors Chief Executive Ed Whitacre has also, according to CNN, announced they will invest $ 136 million into the Fairfax, Kansas and $ 121 million into the Hamtramck, Michigan plants for production of the next generation Malibu. Hamtramck also produces the Buick LaCerne and the Cadillac DTS.

Not out of the woods just yet

The U.S. and Canadian governments still hold the majority of General Motor shares. Currently, according to this article in The Guardian, the US and Canadian governments collectively hold 73 percent of GM stock, the U.S. holding 60 percent. Over $ 50 billion was borrowed by General Motors from the U.S. Treasury as part of TARP programs. Chrysler is still recovering. The Wall Street Journal reports Whitacre will soon meet with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

So is GM alright again?

Many were perturbed by the automaker slipping so badly and the Treasury bailing them out. The car manufacturing industry is also one of the largest employers in the US, and thousands were laid off in the wake of the General Motors and Chrysler bankruptcy. This could mean GM is returning to form, and better days ahead for Detroit with the anticipation of the Chevy Volt.

Article Resources

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSWALLFE62P20100421

CNN

http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/21/autos/gm_loan_repayment/index.htm

The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/apr/21/general-motors-chrysler-autos

Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704133804575197990349307652.html?mod=WSJ_auto_IndustryCollection#articleTabs%3Darticle

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