DETROIT (AP) — General Motors plans to be leaner in the future by cutting in half the number of car and truck frames its uses worldwide.
The company also says it will increase factory capacity 45 percent in Brazil, Russia, India and China by 2014 to take advantage of growth.
GM made the statements Tuesday in slide presentations for its annual global business conference for industry analysts.
The slides say that GM built cars and trucks on 30 different frames last year. That number would be cut to 14 by 2018, saving on engineering, design and manufacturing costs.
The company also plans to keep its investment in research and development consistent, even when car sales are down. That will save money by ending the practice of stopping and starting projects.