DETROIT – General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) sold 2,449,595 vehicles around the world in the third quarter of 2014, up 2 percent compared with a year ago. It was the company’s best third quarter since 1980. In the first nine months of 2014, GM sold 7,371,743 vehicles, up 2 percent.

Third quarter sales in the United States and China, the company’s two largest markets, were up 8 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Year to date, sales in the United States and China were up 4 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

GM is on track to surpass sales of 3 million vehicles in China for the second consecutive year and the company expects to top last year’s record sales of 3.16 million vehicles. During September, GM’s cumulative sales in China surpassed 20 million vehicles.

“GM delivered its best third quarter global sales in 34 years thanks to solid growth in the United States and China, and steady improvement in Opel’s market share,” said GM CEO Mary Barra. “We have launches now underway, including the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon in North America, the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa in Europe, and the Buick Envision and Cadillac ATS-L in China, that will keep our momentum going.”

Highlights (vs. 2013)

• Chevrolet had record sales in China in the third quarter, up 13 percent to 169,830 units. For the first nine months of year, the brand is up 7 percent to a record 505,316 units. September was Chevrolet’s best month ever in China.
• Calendar year to date, Chevrolet sales in South Korea are at record levels.
• The success of the new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra helped GM increase its estimated share of the U.S. retail market for large pickups from 32.7 percent in the first quarter of 2014 to 34.7 percent in the second quarter and 35.6 percent in the third quarter.
• Buick’s global sales were up 7 percent in the third quarter to 284,540 units and they are up 11 percent calendar year to date to 858,046 units, driven by strong growth in the United States and China. Buick’s China sales were up 8 percent in the quarter to 220,578 units and they were up 11 percent to 670,999 units in the first nine months of the year.
• In China, combined, sales of small SUVs – the Buick Encore, Chevrolet Trax and Captiva – were up 90 percent in the third quarter. In the United States, the Buick Encore has been the best-selling vehicle in its segment for six months in a row. The Chevrolet Trax will launch in the United States in early 2015.
• Cadillac’s global sales were up 4 percent in the third quarter and they are up 9 percent year to date, driven by strong growth in China. Cadillac’s China sales were up 48 percent in the quarter to 18,665 units and they were up 63 percent to 52,425 units in the first nine months of the year.
• Opel/Vauxhall gained market share in 11 European countries in the first nine months of this year, including Germany, where the brand earned 7 percent of the market, up 0.3 points.

 

 

11 MORE GM FACILITIES BECOME LANDFILL-FREE

GM continues global movement to zero waste; 122 sites send nothing to landfill

DETROIT – Eleven more General Motors facilities have achieved landfill-free status. The running total is 122 manufacturing and non-manufacturing operations spanning Asia, Europe, and South and North America that recycle, reuse or convert to energy all waste from daily operations.

“Our landfill-free movement is part of our culture of continuous improvement embraced by teams globally,” said Jim DeLuca, GM executive vice president of Global Manufacturing. “Not only does it make our operations more efficient and help conserve vital resources, but we’re able to reinvest the money we get from recycling into future vehicles for our customers.”

GM’s new landfill-free facilities include:

• CAMI Assembly (Canada)
• Colmotores Assembly (Colombia)
• Joinville Engine (Brazil)
• Zaragoza Assembly (Spain)
• Zaragoza Stamping (Spain)
• Grand Rapids Operations (Michigan)
• Burton Warehouse and Distribution Center (Michigan)
• GM Heritage Center (Michigan)
• Shanghai Headquarters (China)
• Luton Warehouse (England)
• Fontana Warehouse and Distribution Center (California)

The addition of these 11 facilities to landfill-free status helps GM avoid more than 600,000 metric tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions. This is comparable to the greenhouse gas benefit of 15 million tree seedlings grown for 10 years.

“Our ultimate goal is not to generate any waste at all,” said John Bradburn, GM global manager of waste reduction. “Until then, we do everything we can to ensure it doesn’t end up in the ground. From connecting our suppliers on special recycling projects to reusing packaging, we apply lessons learned across all of our operations to broaden the positive impact.”

Employee awareness is key in the drive to landfill-free. Colmotores Assembly in Colombia launched awareness campaigns that engaged employees in reducing waste and sorting it correctly. GM’s Shanghai headquarters, a LEED-Gold facility, formed a “Green Team” spanning IT, finance, facilities, R&D and supply chain departments to identify recycling and waste reduction opportunities. Luton Warehouse attributes its success to a robust training initiative that drove a zero-waste culture.

All of these facilities treat their waste as resources out of place and employ a number of methods to give them a second or third life.

• Reduce: Zaragoza Assembly changed its manufacturing process to reduce solvent consumption from its paint shop; it now reuses 80 percent of it. Packaging continues to be a large waste stream for many plants and CAMI Assembly is tackling it by setting aggressive targets to reduce non-reusable packaging.
• Reuse: Grand Rapids Operations’ in-house oil recycling saves GM $1.2 million per year.  It recycles and reuses every gallon of oil it buys from a refinery several times.
• Recycle: CAMI Assembly turns scrap wood into mulch for its wetlands and Grand Rapids Operations recycles grinding wheels as sandpaper. The Grand Rapids site also works with a partner that processes wastewater treatment sludge into a fuel source for the building materials industry.
• Compost: Zaragoza composts wastewater treatment sludge to create fertilizer and Joinville Engine composts its organic cafeteria waste to provide additional nutrients for the site’s trees and plants.

A strong network of recycling partners and suppliers helps facilities achieve their goals. Localizing the supply chain strengthens the business case and reduces overall carbon footprint. One of Zaragoza’s biggest challenges was finding a nearby partner to efficiently transport and treat paint sludge so it could be used to generate electricity. Burton Warehouse and Distribution Center hired a waste technician to help sort packaging waste generated from expanded shipping and distribution operations. A new recycling partner helped push GM’s Heritage Center to landfill-free status.

Landfill-free has no finish line. For example, Colmotores Assembly set a goal to work with suppliers on minimizing packaging waste and designing products for easier reuse or recycling.

GM’s goal is to achieve 125 landfill-free sites globally by 2020. The company already has met its 10 percenttotal waste reduction commitment – seven years ahead of schedule.

GM was named a Michigan Green Leader and Green Corporate Citizen for its landfill-free program, and received a Top Project of the Year Award from Environmental Leader for driving a global movement for zero waste.  GM was one of the first companies – and the only automaker – inducted into the U.S. EPA WasteWise Hall of Fame.

The company’s blueprint, “The Business Case for Zero Waste”, outlines how companies of all sizes and industries can reduce waste and create efficiencies.