General Motors Corp., Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group, or SAIC, and OnStar Corp. established a telematics joint venture called Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co. Ltd. This is OnStar's first venture outside of North America in its 11-year history. GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner signed the agreement during a visit to Shanghai on Oct. 27. GM and SAIC have been getting along just swimmingly for a long time. "Over the past decade, GM and SAIC have established eight joint ventures that are engaged in vehicle and powertrain manufacturing, sales and service ... and now telematics," said GM China group president and managing director Kevin Wale.

The respective subsidiaries of GM-SAIC and OnStar-Shanghai Automotive Industry Sales Co. Ltd. each own 40% of the $46 million venture. Shanghai GM, a 50-50 joint venture of GM and SAIC, owns the remaining 20%. Shanghai OnStar Telematics expects to begin rolling out its dashboard technology in 2009, initially for vehicles manufactured and distributed in China by Shanghai GM.
— Baz Hiralal

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