The Role of Automotive Suppliers and How Chevrolet Selects The Best 

If you follow the automotive industry, you likely know that automotive manufacturers like General Motors no longer build every single component within an automaker. Instead, they turn to suppliers – often specialist manufacturers in their particular field – to provide them. This Barry’s Chevrolet post explains how this system works.  

As a whole, suppliers develop, test, and build their part of a vehicle and then ship it to various GM plants that need it. “Nearly 70 percent of the value of a car is actually done outside of GM,” says Shilpan Amin, senior vice president and chief procurement and supply chain officer. “Our suppliers make wheels and tires, instrument panels, seats, door panels, and so much more. A lot of the technologies that you touch, feel, and see in our vehicles are developed by our suppliers.” 

Unlike tires, which are pretty clearly branded, most parts produced by a supplier for an automaker aren’t labeled with their actual provider, just the automaker. These parts may look and feel as if they were designed and validated by GM engineers and seamlessly integrated into the vehicle – which they are. Suppliers work with GM early in the vehicle design process to make sure that their part is in sync with the overall design of the model if it can be seen, and in all cases, it improves the function of the system it supports.  

Seats are a perfect example. Seats are absolutely crucial to cabin design, passenger safety, and customer satisfaction, but are rarely made in-house by any automotive manufacturer. Still, seats have to meet comfort and durability standards. All power systems for adjustability, heating and cooling, and potentially integrated safety systems must work flawlessly with controls that may be designed by another supplier. The materials may have to match those elsewhere in the cabin, which, again, may be made by another supplier. They have to deal with extreme cold, extreme heat, and all levels of humidity.  

Quality parts are not usually the result of seeking the lowest possible bidder. Instead, quality and communication are key factors in building successful supplier relationships. “How do you get treated? How do you feel? Do you know you’re going to be taken care of when you take a risk? All of those things allow suppliers to lean in more heavily with GM,” Amin explained. “A lot of these parts that get supplied are very capital- and resource-intensive. Our suppliers have to decide how they allocate their capital and resources. This is where relationships matter.”   

Amin explains that supplier relationships are built on a long-term outlook. “When GM becomes a customer of choice for a supplier, we get their best resources, their smartest people working on GM products.” 

Between Chevrolet and GM’s other brands, Amin estimates the automaker has about 20,000 suppliers worldwide, and GM regularly recognizes some of the best in the field with annual Supplier of the Year awards, which honor excellence in several categories. Receiving such an award from GM can be quite a feather in a supplier’s cap, motivating them to do their best. In addition, GM gives annual Overdrive awards. “Whether it’s in innovation, whether it’s in helping us manage a crisis across our priorities – that’s the best of the best, our top elite recognized suppliers,” says Amin. 

For example, among this year’s Overdrive honorees is Dolby Laboratories for its work providing an immersive listening experience for Cadillac EVs. GM’s 103 Supplier of the Year winners for 2026 include suppliers from 14 countries, and for 16 of those firms, this is their first such award. 

Overall, GM and its suppliers employ more people than any other automaker in the U.S. and contribute over $130 billion to the U.S. GDP. 

It is a complicated process, but it is what brings quality, reliability, durability, and exceptional design to GM vehicles. Check out how well it has all worked out with a visit to Barry’s Chevrolet to test drive and closely examine the Chevrolet models of your choice.