New Powertrain Boss Steve Kiefer Sees No Letup in GM Blitz

PONTIAC, MI – The new head of powertrain at General Motors expects the automaker to sustain its current global product blitz and says he was lured to the company by its new competitive fire, as well as a personal appeal from Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson.

GM is in the midst of launching 27 new or updated products in the U.S. and by the middle of next year will have put 50 new or refreshed models on the global market. The blitz this year includes bread-and-butter pickups and SUVs in the U.S., a new small car and SUV in Europe and the introduction and production of a fresh batch of Cadillacs in China.

“This is the new norm,” Steve Kiefer, vice president-global powertrain at GM, says in a meeting with WardsAuto editors at GM Powertrain headquarters here.

Over the past 18 months, GM has rolled out nine new engines and three new transmissions to accommodate many of those fresh products. Eyeing fuel-economy improvements, the automaker has brought to market a battery-electric system, a significant automatic transmission control upgrade and a stop/start system.

Kiefer, who joined GM two months ago from parts maker Delphi, also says the automaker will bring to market a greater number of “purpose-built” engines targeting specific wants and needs of consumers. In other words, one size no longer fits all at GM.

“The days of sub-optimization are gone,” he says. “You need to optimize (the) vehicle, engine and transmission simultaneously, and we’re going to see a lot of purpose-built applications if we are going hit the kind of fuel-economy-without-compromise targets that our customers are demanding.”

The U.S. lineup for ’13 includes three separate engines addressing pickup customers, the BEV and stop/start systems, plus a twin-turbo V-6 for the Cadillac CTS that gives the luxury sedan three powertrain options.

“When Mr. Akerson approached me, I gave a lot of thought to this lineup,” says Kiefer, who led Delphi’s powertrain unit before coming back to where he started his career. “We say we’ve got the world’s best powertrains, the best engines and transmissions, and I believe it. Our portfolio is outstanding and there is more to come.”

GM will invest more than $500 million in its powertrain operations over the coming years to more quickly design, engineer and manufacture fuel-efficient technology meant to meet tightening regulations around the world.

Kiefer sees GM offering a wider array of engine technologies over the next few years, too. In addition to the Chevrolet Spark BEV and the base engine in the Chevy Malibu now carrying stop/start, the automaker launched U.S. production earlier this year of a diesel-powered Chevy Cruze.

Both diesel engines and stop/start are popular in Europe, where Kiefer spent 20 year with Delphi and GM powertrain groups. He expects U.S. buyers will adopt the technologies as fuel prices increase. But Kiefer says the U.S. isn’t just emulating Europe; instead, the entire world is converging on a group of technologies, compelled by tightening fuel-economy and emissions regulations and the certainty of higher fuel prices to come.

“It’s amazing what $5 to $8 (a gallon) fuel does to your behavior, relative to what kind of car you drive and what you will accept in the name of better consumption. Our future standards will drive us to similar technologies. I’m optimistic about diesels. You can’t deny the physics.”

Kiefer also says GM will not take advantage of a move this month by European regulators to scrap a future law cutting carbon-dioxide emissions to 95 g/km.

“There’s enough question in future legislation that we need to prepare for every eventuality, and to some extent legislation isn’t the only factor. You can also win in the marketplace with fuel economy,” he says.

Kiefer says he was recruited back to GM by Akerson, and he found the automaker’s new competitive fire as compelling as the powertrain lineup.

“Right up to our CEO, you feel it, this spirit of absolutely winning in every segment we play,” he says. “There won’t be any losing.”

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