July 3, 2012 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
• General Motors Co. today reported June sales of 248,750 vehicles in the United States, up 16 percent year over year and the company’s highest sales since September 2008. Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac all reported double-digit increases. “Across the board, June was a strong month for GM,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president, U.S. Sales Operations. “The combination of new products, available credit, lower fuel prices and modest economic growth was a stronger influence on consumer behavior than economic and political uncertainty." For the month, GM passenger car sales were up 12 percent year over year, thanks to a 32 percent increase in Chevrolet Malibu sales and a 21 percent increase in Buick LaCrosse sales. Combined sales of all seven Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac crossovers were up 30 percent versus a year ago. Truck sales were up 11 percent, with all pickup, van and SUV segments up year over year. Retail deliveries were up 8 percent year over year. Fleet deliveries were up 36 percent versus a year ago due in part to the timing of customer deliveries. In July, fleet volumes and mix are expected be down month over month and year over year. Van sales came in at 10,209, up 33.7 percent over last year and the best June result since 2007. GM’s newest vehicles continue to perform well. Sales of the Buick Verano were 4,091 in June, and have increased each month since the car launched in December 2011. Chevrolet Sonic sales were 6,785 units and it is the retail sales leader in its segment. The new Cadillac XTS began arriving in showrooms in June, and dealers delivered more than 750 vehicles. Over the course of 2012 and 2013, 70 percent of GM’s nameplates will be all-new or redesigned.
• The UAW applauds the health care ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court and President Obama for his courage in winning long-overdue reform that has already benefited millions of Americans. "Now that the false arguments against the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act have been put to rest, we will continue to advocate for quality, cost-effective health care for our members and all Americans," said UAW President Bob King. "The UAW strongly supports health care reform. It's morally unacceptable to leave tens of millions of Americans with no insurance coverage, and it's economically unsustainable to force working families and retirees to bear the burden of out-of-control costs," King added.
"Even UAW members with excellent health insurance coverage worry about their children, many of whom are struggling to find work or working in jobs with no benefits," King said. "By allowing parents to keep children on their policy until age 26, the Affordable Care Act has already benefited thousands of our members." King added that by increasing the number of Americans with coverage through subsidies and the individual mandate, the Affordable Care Act will reduce the burden of expensive, uncompensated care that is now borne by our members and their employers. "We call on Governor Romney and Republicans in Congress to stop playing politics with the health care of the American people. Their continued pledge to repeal the law is a waste of time and would hurt millions of families. It's time to focus on the real business at hand -- strengthening our economy and putting Americans back to work."
• A recent article at cars.com analyzed the level of American employment by automakers here are some excerpts: Detroit automakers have the clear lead in direct employment — at assembly, drivetrain, stamping, casting and tooling plants, research and design facilities, U.S. headquarters, testing grounds and the like. GM spokesman Fred Ligouri says GM employs 77,000 Americans. Chrysler's U.S. employment totals 39,200. Ford declined to provide numbers, but the American Automotive Policy Council, a group that represents the Detroit Three, says the Dearborn, Mich., automaker employs about 65,000. Combined, that's more than 2.5 times the number of employees that Toyota, Nissan and Honda – the three largest Japanese automakers in the U.S. — employ. It's no wonder the AAPC says that the Detroit Three employ two out of every three autoworkers in the U.S. "We're certainly never going to deny that [the Detroit Three] are global companies in a global marketplace," says AAPC President Matt Blunt. "But they're certainly performing above what one would expect in the United States in terms of employment, in terms of parts, in terms of capital investment." Of course, foreign-owned carmakers claim plenty of U.S. investment in product development, too. But Blunt maintains it's not as much the contributions from Chrysler, let alone GM or Ford. "Ford by itself and GM by itself — the fact that they're purchasing alone as many auto parts as all of the Japanese auto companies combined, that's really a pretty telling statistic," he says.
• From the Detroit News: General Motors Co. said it sold 1,760 plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt vehicles in June, double what it sold in June 2011. In the first half of 2012, GM sold 8,817 Volts, more than triple the 2,745 it sold in the same period last year. It already has topped Volt sales for all of 2011, which were about 7,600. Volt sales have been boosted by California granting solo drivers of the extended-range electric vehicle access to carpool lanes. June sales were up over the 1,680 Volts sold in May. GM has been sharply outselling its Japanese rival, the all-electric Nissan Leaf, by more than three-to-one. For the first five months, Nissan has sold 2,613. The Japanese automaker has repeatedly insisted it will sell 20,000 Leafs in the U.S. in 2012. That means Nissan will have to average 2,485 a month for the rest of year — or nearly as many as it sold in the first five months combined.
Tom Brune
UAW/GM Communications Coordinator
Wentzville Assembly
636-327-2119
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