GM exits bankruptcy protection

General Motors drove out of bankruptcy protection on Friday, with its top executive saying it must pay more attention to responding to customers.

The automaker's rapid relaunch came just 40 days after going into creditor protection. One bankruptcy expert called GM's 40-day case the fastest ever for a company of its size.

GM is now a smaller company that is majority-owned by the U.S. government. With a drastically reduced debt load and new ownership, the company also has fewer brands. The Pontiac brand is disappearing, while the company plans to sell off Saab, Saturn, Hummer and its European-based Opel operations.

Most of the remaining GM assets have been transferred to a U.S. government-controlled company.

The government of Canada holds an 11.7 per cent stake, while the United Auto Workers union has 17.5 per cent through a retiree health-care trust. Bondholders of the old GM got the remaining shares.

CEO Henderson says GM to focus on 4 core brands

At a news conference at GM's head office in Detroit, company CEO Fritz Henderson spoke about the relaunch of the company. He said the company's new focus on four core brands — Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC — will allow GM to focus its resources in fewer places.

"If we don't get this right, nothing else is going to work," he said. "Business as usual is over at General Motors."

Henderson told reporters that the company plans to introduce 10 new models in the United States and 17 new models outside the U.S. over the next 18 months.

The GM chief also said the company is eyeing new ways of selling its products, including possible online auctions in partnership with eBay.

GM will pay back about $50 billion US in governments loans before a 2015 deadline, Henderson said.

"We are confident that the company will now be in a position to operate a sustainable and viable business that will keep production, innovation and jobs in Canada," Canadian Industry Minister Tony Clement said following GM's emergence.

"This is good news for Canadian auto workers, the Canadian auto parts supply chain and for Canadian consumers," Clement said.