Restructuring and Other Initiatives (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended				6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($) employees	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($) employees	Mar. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($) employees
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	$ 1,051	$ 1,378	$ 1,432	$ 1,349	$ 1,378
Additions, interest accretion and other	163	184	240	298
Payments	(174)	(437)	(239)	(208)
Revisions to estimates and effect of foreign currency	10	(74)	(2)	(7)
Ending Balance	1,050	1,051	1,431	1,432	1,050
GMNA [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	438	459	471	497	459
Additions, interest accretion and other	65	9	10	10
Payments	(19)	(19)	(26)	(30)
Revisions to estimates and effect of foreign currency	1	(11)	5	(6)
Ending Balance	485	438	460	471	485
Remaining Payments Including Temporary Layoffs Benefits	353		354		353
GME [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	440	751	590	503	751
Additions, interest accretion and other	9	127	179	191
Payments	(73)	(385)	(68)	(106)
Revisions to estimates and effect of foreign currency	17	(53)	(2)	2
Ending Balance	393	440	699	590	393
GME [Member] | Germany Separation Programs [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Restructuring and Related Cost, Cost Incurred to Date			553
GMIO [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	171	166	358	333	166
Additions, interest accretion and other	54	37	27	48
Payments	(53)	(22)	(116)	(21)
Revisions to estimates and effect of foreign currency	(8)	(10)	(5)	(2)
Ending Balance	164	171	264	358	164
GMIO [Member] | Separation Programs in Australia, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and Chevrolet Europe [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Restructuring and Related Cost, Cost Incurred to Date	$ 605				$ 605
Employees Affected, Inception to Date | employees	4,300				4,300
Expected Cost Remaining	$ 200				$ 200
GMIO [Member] | Separation Programs in Australia, Korea, and Chevrolet Europe [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Restructuring and Related Cost, Cost Incurred to Date			$ 390
Employees Affected, Inception to Date | employees			3,350
GMSA [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	2	2	$ 13	16	2
Additions, interest accretion and other	35	11	24	49
Payments	(29)	(11)	(29)	(51)
Revisions to estimates and effect of foreign currency	0	0	0	(1)
Ending Balance	$ 8	$ 2	8	$ 13	$ 8
GMSA [Member] | Separation Program in Brazil and Venezuela [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Restructuring and Related Cost, Cost Incurred to Date			$ 159
GME and GMIO [Member] | Change of Business Model in Russia [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Employees Affected, Inception to Date | employees	1,130				1,130
Expected Cost Remaining	$ 100				$ 100
Number of Dealers and Distributors Impacted, Inception to Date	300				300
Cost Related to Business Withdrawal					$ 443
Noncontrolling Interest Adjustments					54
Cumulative Translation and Other Charges					181
Sales Incentives and Inventory Related Costs					137
Asset Impairment Charges					54
GME and GMIO [Member] | Change of Business Model in Russia [Member] | Dealer Restructuring and Other Contract Cancellation Costs [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Additions, interest accretion and other					112
GME and GMIO [Member] | Change of Business Model in Russia [Member] | Employee Severance [Member]
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Additions, interest accretion and other					$ 13