GM working to ease bottlenecks, near 100% production in 2023

Keith McCluskey, chairman of the Chevrolet National Dealer Council, told Automotive News that company leaders said in the make meeting that GM is purchasing 400 heavy-duty trucks to deliver vehicles to dealers.

Rather than relying on third-party logistics providers, “GM stepped up and bought those assets. And GM people on GM-owned vehicles are delivering our product to us,” said McCluskey, CEO of McCluskey Chevrolet in Cincinnati. “It’s just part of GM being aggressive and figuring out: We’re not going to sit back and just be a victim of the transportation industry. We’re going to take charge in it.”

McCluskey said GM executives told dealers Saturday that the company expects to be nearly back to 100 percent of production capability this year after being hamstrung by supply snags amid the pandemic and microchip shortage, “which would be music to our ears.”

Nearly 500,000 vehicles had been built missing some parts, McCluskey said dealers were told, a figure that has been cut to “about 1,000” as of the end of January.

“Bottom line is, the bad weather, the storm is behind us,” he said. “It’s a very bright future.”