GM is stepping in to help with the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
A month ago, the Ukrainian government reached out to GM for some help. The besieged nation needed cars, and big ones, to move its civilians out of active areas of conflict throughout the country. Thankfully, GM happily obliged. By April 22, GM had 50 Chevy Tahoe SUVs on a truck at the Ukrainian border.
The vehicles were moved into Ukraine via a military hub in Rzeszow, Poland. From there, the vehicles were delivered to the Ukrainian government. According to company spokesperson George Svigos, GM partnered with global shipping company Maersk, to get the GMC Yukon twins out of the States and into Ukraine as quickly as they did.
Svigos told the Detroit Free Press that “The vehicles will be used to assist with humanitarian aid in the region. The decision to donate vehicles was made following a request from the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington.” GM also pointed out that these SUVs were already bound for somewhere outside the states, and thus wouldn’t affect inventory here in the US. However, we’re sure any number of dealers would have happily given up their allocation of much-needed new cars to help out.
This isn’t the only measure GM has taken to help out with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. It has joined numerous other brands in shuttering offices and production facilities in Russia, as well as suspending imports. That final measure was taken “due to the crisis in Ukraine and resulting US and international sanctions (on Russia).”
Additionally, GM has given $250,000 to support humanitarian aid efforts in the region, as well as matching US employee donations up to $50,000. Svigos says it only took four days to hit that $50,000 mark. These measures are part of a raft of auto-centric actions being taken to discourage Russia’s greedy land-grab in Ukraine.
Tesla boss Elon Musk has taken several measures to show support for Ukraine, including making Supercharges free for Ukranian Tesla owners and setting up Starlink internet services in the country. Formula 1 also canceled the Russian GP shortly before the Haas F1 team dropped its Russian driver and sponsorship.
