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Harbour: GM Outpaces Competition with 4.5 % Overall Gain

• Oshawa 1 Car Plant Best in Assembly Productivity

• GM's Engine, Transmission Operations Lead Domestic Automakers in Productivity

• Stamping Plants Post Significant Gains in Throughput

"This is wonderful news, considering that production volume in the automotive industry dropped considerably in 2001 due to the softening economy," said Gary Cowger, president of GM North America. "Our ability to weather the economic uncertainty of 2001 is a testament to our employees and our manufacturing and quality processes that we have put in place throughout North America."

GM's gains allowed it to widen its lead in productivity over its domestic rivals and narrow the gap with foreign automakers, according to the annual productivity study.

Some of the improvements posted by GM included:

At 39.34 total (assembly, engine, transmission and stamping) hours per vehicle, GM led its domestic rivals and narrowed the gap with the industry benchmark. GM's Oshawa 1, Ontario, car plant, which makes the Chevrolet Impala and Monte Carlo, was the most productive assembly plant in North America at 16.79 hours per vehicle. GM plants led in six of 13 assembly plant segments:

• Oshawa 1 (Chevrolet Impala and Monte Carlo) was best midsize car plant at 16.79 hours per vehicle.

• Lansing C, Mich., (Pontiac Grand Am and Oldsmobile Alero) was best compact car plant at 20.11 hours per vehicle.

• Arlington, Texas, (Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, and Cadillac Escalade) was best full-size SUV plant at 25.99 hours per vehicle.

• Detroit-Hamtramck, Mich., (Buick LeSabre and Cadillac DeVille and Seville) was best luxury car plant at 29.47 hours per vehicle.

• Oshawa Truck, Ontario, (Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra) was best full-size truck plant at 20.95 hours per vehicle. Doraville, Ga., (Chevrolet Venture, Pontiac Montana and Oldsmobile Silhouette) was best minivan plant at 25 hours per vehicle.

• GM's Toledo, Ohio, facility was the best rear-wheel drive transmission plant at 3.43 hours per transmission .

• GM's Romulus, Mich., facility was the most productive 8-cylinder engine plant at 3.77 hours per engine.

• GM's stamping operations reduced the die changeover time to 28 minutes, the best of the domestic automakers. Ronald E. Harbour, president of Troy, Mich.-based Harbour and Associates, said GM's productivity gains were not a surprise.

"Quality and productivity go hand in hand, and GM is demonstrating that it is making substantive improvements in both areas," Harbour said.

"Our assembly operations are producing more vehicles that meet first-time quality standards, which means that fewer vehicles need rework or repair," Cowger said. "In fact, by building high-quality vehicles, we have significantly reduced non-scheduled overtime, which hinders productivity," Cowger added.

GM's efforts were recognized in the recent J.D. Power and Associates 2002 Initial Quality Study. GM posted an 11 percent improvement in initial quality, making GM the first domestic automaker to place among the top three multi-division companies in the study.

"While we are pleased with the gains we made last year in the Harbour and J.D. Power and Associates studies, our ultimate goal is to become the industry leader in productivity and quality," Cowger said. "We are confident we can achieve those goals because our hourly and salaried employees are up to the task of making GM the best automaker in the world. Additionally, our improved relationships with the UAW, CAW and CWA-IUE have had a positive effect on our productivity and quality efforts."

June 13, 2002