DETROIT (AP) — General Motors Corp. is merging its eight brands into four channels in order to streamline product development and sales and further differentiate the brands, the automaker announced Wednesday.

The Chevrolet and Saturn brands will continue to stand alone, but there will be a new premium channel containing Cadillac, Hummer and Saab and another channel for Buick, Pontiac and GMC.

"These changes have been designed to improve all of our brands and achieve strongly profitable channels at both a wholesale and retail level," Troy Clarke, GM's president for North America, said in a statement. "We are further streamlining the organization to reduce complexity, align resources to improve the consumer experience and improve bottom line business results."

The move mirrors GM's ongoing effort to consolidate its Pontiac, Buick and GMC dealerships into one-stop shops and ensure the products offered by each brand are distinct and not overlapping with the others.

Mark McNabb, 47, will join GM from Nissan Motor Co. to run the premium channel. McNabb most recently was corporate vice president of Nissan's luxury Infiniti brand and senior vice president of sales and marketing for Nissan North America.

Susan Docherty, 46, will lead the Buick, Pontiac and GMC channel. Docherty has been GM's western regional manager since 2006 and also is a former general manager of Hummer.

Ed Peper, 46, who currently is Chevrolet's general manager, will head the Chevrolet brand, while Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak, 51, will continue to lead that brand.

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