Brazil slump hurts ailing GM

General Motors (GM) has been feeling the pinch lately as a result of the global economic slowdown and decreasing auto sales. It’s a dire situation which has led its CEO to beg for a multibillion dollar government bailout.

One of GM’s few bright spots has been its sales in Latin America which have reached record highs. Yet it appears as if that gravy train may soon come to a screeching halt:

New automobile sales in Brazil slumped for the second straight month in November, falling 25.7 percent from October as a nagging credit crunch and a slowing economy kept many consumers out of showrooms, the national automakers' association said on Thursday…

Exports also fell sharply in November, dropping 23.1 percent from the previous month to $1 billion.

With Brazil serving as GM's largest market outside the U.S., today’s news is another pothole in the road for a firm desperate to stay afloat.

Other auto companies have had recent troubles in Brazil; according to AFP, firms like “Ford, Fiat, Peugeot, Volkswagen and General Motors have put many of their workers on mandatory vacation to idle assembly lines.”

Image- AFP (“Hundreds of new cars of US carmaker General Motors remain at the GM car park in Sao Paulo.”)
Sources- boston.com, AFP, Fox News, Latin Business Chronicle, Reuters, CNNMOney.com