Barra, speaking with reporters in a roundtable this morning, said GM's reshuffled leadership team is "perfectly aligned" to carry out the company's core goals of delivering the best products and achieving profitability in all of its markets.
GM's targets include breaking even in Europe, achieving a 10% profit margin in North America and reaching the 5-million sales mark in China — all by mid-decade.
"There is no right turn or left turn we're going to be making," Barra said at GM's Renaissance Center headquarters in Detroit. "We want to accelerate."
Barra said she met with the company's "top 300 leaders" earlier this week to emphasize priorities.
She assumed her new role Jan. 15 after the departure of Dan Akerson, who left to help his wife fight cancer. Akerson is remaining as a consultant for less than a year.
Barra, an engineer and GM's former senior vice president for global product development, was swarmed by reporters and photographers at the North American International Auto Show last week, leading people to literally trip over each other in the rush to meet the new CEO.
Today, in a less hectic setting with about a dozen reporters sitting around a square table, she described the media craze at the Detroit auto show as a function of being new.
"Part of that was just the fact that, hey, (there's) a new CEO at General Motors," she said. "At the same time the first time to really be in the public spotlight and at the same time we have one of the most important automotive events in the industry. I think those two aligning probably accentuated it a bit."
Barra said she's glad that her appointment as the first female CEO of a major automaker will drive interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields — one of her "personal passions." She said she had received hun! dreds of e-mails, Facebook posts, Twitter posts and LinkedIn messages congratulating her.
But she doesn't plan to dwell on the historic nature of her appointment.
"There has been a lot of coverage," she said. "I never approached any assignment that, 'Oh, I'm a woman.' My gender doesn't really factor into my thinking as I come into the room."
As GM enters the first full year of sales for its redesigned 2014 full-size pickup trucks, Wall Street is watching to see if the automaker gains market share and squeezes more profits out of its most important products.
But with Ford expected to increase incentives as it transitions to its redesigned 2015 pickup trucks by the end of the year, GM could be tempted to increase incentives, which would decrease profits. The company has said it will remain disciplined but will respond to market demands if necessary.
Barra said GM is "still very much on track" to achieve a 10% profit margin in North America by mid-decade.
Barra also said:
¦ GM must deliver innovative products that satisfy customers and can't get complacent.
"I don't expect to get a free pass," she said. "I believe the customer is very rational. They're going to make the best decision based on value."
¦ GM has a strong strategy in place to break even in Europe by mid-decade, following the introduction of new Opel products, the withdrawal of Chevrolet from the continent and cost cutting in the region.
"I think Europe is a very important market for General Motors," she said.
¦ Chevrolet has a "great opportunity" to thrive in China, where the brand is trailing GM's overall growth rate. Reuss said last week that Chevrolet needs better products in China to succeed.
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