GM may add plants overseas

General Motors Corp.'s fast growth in foreign lands may soon force the automaker to add and expand factories around the globe, the company said Thursday.

Despite its struggles in the critical U.S. market, GM reported a 4 percent increase in global sales for the third quarter. The automaker sold a record 2.4 million cars and trucks.

GM has worked to grow in emerging markets without pouring money into new factories, which can be a risky venture fraught with uncertainty.

But demand is putting pressure on operations in the fastest-growing regions, including several Latin American countries, GM analysts Paul Ballew told Wall Street investors in announcing the numbers.

Ballew said GM is looking to grow in a number of markets.

"We're going to have to add capacity going forward," he said. "We're going to add that capacity with an eye toward being flexible globally and making sure we can be lean.

"We're not going to go through a plant-building craze just to add capacity because we think the industry's going to surge." Detroit News