Automotive

ARA questions GM’s circular economy logic

The Manassas, Virginia-based Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) is admonishing General Motors (GM) and its CEO Mary Barra for what the ARA calls an “anti-environmental” position on the use of recycled GM parts.

GM’s revised position statement on recycled and salvage original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts, found on its updated Genuine GM Parts website at http://bit.ly/2cqPhPo, significantly backtracks on the company’s economic stewardship commitments to conserve resources and protect the global environment and “contradicts its publicly stated environmental principles by now attacking the use of environmentally friendly recycled GM parts,” the ARA says. The revised position statement was posted in August 2016.

ARA says GM includes the following paragraph in the revised position statement: “Genuine GM Parts are designed and constructed using metals with specific properties, thicknesses and stamping features built to perform in a consistent and predictable way during a collision event. The use of non-OEM structural components may compromise the overall crashworthiness and occupant safety of General Motors vehicles in a subsequent collision. In summary, General Motors does not support the use of salvage or recycled parts in a vehicle’s repair. GM recommends the use of Genuine GM Parts in repairs to help ensure the vehicle is returned to precollision condition.”

GM and other manufacturers do not cite specific data or research to back up their claims that recycled parts are inferior to new parts, ARA CEO Michael E. Wilson says. “We believe the campaign by GM continues to be part of a coordinated and concerted effort among auto manufacturers to limit competition in the automotive parts replacement market by engaging in an ongoing campaign to undermine the recycled OEM parts market.”

He adds, “Recycled OEM parts are genuine OEM parts built to the same quality, durability, fit and finish specifications as new replacement parts. These recycled OEM parts went through the same rigid GM testing to ensure they [can be integrated] and are functional with all specified vehicle systems.”

ARA urges GM’s leadership “to cease their current anti-environmental and misinformation activities related to maligning recycled GM parts—the very parts that they manufactured.”