Another Huge Quarter Shows Why GM Isn't Worried About The Recalls

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co said on Wednesday its global sales topped 2.5 million vehicles in the recent quarter, up 0.5 percent as it posted its best showing since 2005 for a second quarter.

In the first half of the year, GM's sales were 4.92 million vehicles, up 1.4 percent. That is behind Volkswagen AG's first-half 2014 global sales figure of 4.97 million vehicles, up 6 percent.

Toyota Motor Corp will issue its second-quarter and half-year global sales figures in August. The Japanese automaker was the 2013 sales leader at 9.98 million vehicles, ahead of VW at 9.73 million and GM at 9.71 million.

General Motors sold 2,505,889 vehicles in the second quarter, gaining 8 percent in China and 7 percent in the United States, its two largest markets.

GM's sales have diversified quite a bit since 2005.

This year, the United States accounted for 32.2 percent of GM's second-quarter global sales. That compares with 51.4 percent of GM's sales coming from the United States in the second quarter of 2005, when it sold 2.6 million vehicles around the world.

Toyota has been the global auto sales leader since 2008, other than 2011 when GM was tops. But that was the year Toyota was hampered by an earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

VW's figures for the first half of this year do not include its brands MAN and Scania.

GM's blockbuster quarter may indicate that the company will emerge relatively unscathed from the recalls that have enveloped some 28 million of its cars for a wide range of defects.

Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Karl Brauer recently told Business Insider that "all of KBB's metrics indicate that the recalls have had little to no effect on GM sales."

And while GM's faulty ignition systems have been connected to fatal accidents, they are overall less dangerous than defects that have plagued other car makers in the past. "The engine shut-off that results from the failure is perfectly manageable in most situations," Brauer said.

Recall aside, GM has actually made great strides in improving the design, quality and engineering of its new cars, whichhas helped buyers forget about the recalled vehicles, said Tom Mutchler, senior automotive engineer at Consumer Reports.

In terms of corporate response, GM CEO Mary Barra and her team are perceived positively. Much of GM's wrongdoing occurred before the Barra administration. Industry insiders like Brauer and Mutchler said they appreciate Barra's candor with respect to her company's past failings, and see her as a positive figure trying to a fix a broken system.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall; editing by Matthew Lewis)