GM Defense: A Case Study of Success.

• Date: 01 June 2021
• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Published date: 01 June 2021
• Author: Magnuson, Stew

Concord, N.C.--On May 4, lawmakers, Army officers and various other VIPs came to an industrial park in the heart of NASCAR country for the grand opening of GM Defense's new vehicle manufacturing facility.

It was indeed a remarkable day. At the beginning of the year, the 75,000 square foot building next to the parking lot where the welcoming speeches took place was an empty shell.

In just 90 days, the company transformed the building into a facility where it could manufacture the Army's new infantry squad vehicle, or ISV.

And it was only a few short years ago when GM Defense raised eyebrows at the Association of the United States Army's annual convention in Washington, D.C., by putting up a booth in the convention center's basement and announcing that the U.S. carmaker was back in the defense business after an absence of some 14 years.

That was October 2017. By the summer of 2020, it had won its first major contract--$214.3 million to build 649 ISVs.

Several times during the event's speeches. GM Defense was referred to as a "startup."

A startup? Possibly. Technically.

If the General Motors subsidiary is by definition a startup, then it is no ordinary one.

It started its life...