1.4 Given that some quality problems are almost inevitable with new technology and prototypes, what quality management and communication strategies should GM and Holden have planned for in developing and launching the Volt? General Motors gives design teams the green light With all the bad news about layoffs, outsourcing and plant closings at General Motors (GM), including its Australian Holden operations closing in 2017, it’s not hard to guess what keeps many GM employees up at night.

In Australia, some 3000 staff will lose their jobs in 2017 when GM closes its Holden Australian manufacturing operations in Victoria and South Australia.

However, with the company’s renewed mission to reinvent the automobile, and with a new $25 billion bailout from the federal government for automakers who invest in green technology, at least one group at GM is sleeping a little easier. E-Flex Systems, the hybrid-vehicle task force behind the 2010 Chevy Volt, recently received the green light from senior management to design cleaner more energy-efficient vehicles. And now with a $25 billion credit line from the US government, GM’s group of more than 600 engineers and designers is hard at work developing high-quality low-emissions vehicles for the future.

In videotaped comments posted on the company’s FastLane blog, Bob Lutz, GM’s vice chairman of global product development, explained the automaker’s perspective on quality. ‘If you ask me, “Are we satisfied where we are in quality?” the answer has to be “No”. Because until you’re absolutely perfect, which no company will ever be, this is really an area where you strive.’ Although quality may be a never-ending pursuit, getting it right may be more important than ever before in GM’s history. In recent years, the company has overhauled design processes to make way for alternative-fuel vehicles like the Chevy Tahoe hybrid, the hydrogen-powered Equinox SUV and the battery-powered Volt. Such uncharted waters could prove treacherous if controls are not in place to measure performance and provide swift corrective action when problems arise.