With the recall of an additional eight million vehicles last week, General Motors is on the brink of achieving a major milestone in automotive history: More of its vehicles under recall than not.
When that day arrives, according to sources, the automaker will start sending out non-recall notices to customers who aren’t affected. Owners of cars that are affected will not be notified – and will thus need to get their cars into dealers immediately.
“If this happens GM will add hundreds of millions to the bottom line,” says industry analyst Gemma Flowers, noting that the company will save money not only by sending fewer notices, but also on the cost per mailing.
“Putting out a recall notice costs $6.89 per vehicle, but a non-recall notice is just 65¢ for a form letter and stamp,” says Flowers. “You do the math,”
The savings will be crucial if the automaker is to emerge successfully from the recall crisis, she says.
“They’re going to need to buy a lot of advertising”, says Flowers. “Potential buyers must be convinced that GM cars and trucks are the best in the world.”
