GM Builds its 500 Millionth Vehicle

General Motors is marking a milestone today: construction of its 500 millionth vehicle. 

The company is celebrating building a half billion vehicles in the last 106 years, a number far greater than any other automaker can claim. GM CEO Mary Barra and GM North America and Global Chevrolet President Alan Batey celebrated the milestone at the Fairfax (Kansas) Assembly plant, where they announced a $174 million investment into new equipment and technology to support production of the 2016 Malibu.

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GM was founded in 1908 and it was reborn 101 years later in 2009 when the company declared bankruptcy. In the early 1960’s, GM was responsible for nearly 50 percent of car sales in the U.S. Today, the American brand is the third largest automaker in the world behind Volkswagen and Toyota. GM has shaped the auto industry in numerous ways, including introducing the first V8, the first automatic transmission, the first air bags in a production vehicle and the first automotive crash test dummies.

Currently, GM is under fire over a number of safety issues. At least 97 deaths have been attributed to faulty ignition switches in GM vehicles, while last year the company recalled over 30 million vehicles worldwide.

“During 2015, we expect to sell more than 1,000 new vehicles per hour, 24 hours per day,” said Barra. “This adds up to nearly 10 million vehicles, the most in our history. I look at this extraordinary volume as 10 million opportunities to prove what kind of company we are and to say thank you.” GM’s CEO also announced that in the third week of May, all salaried and represented employees and retirees in the U.S. will have be granted a one-time customer appreciation discount.

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