GM offers signs that it’s putting the recall scandal in the rear-view mirror

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Ben Geier

General Motors reported earnings today, and all signs are that the embattled auto manufacturer is finally managing to pull itself out of the ignition-switch recall scandal that has engulfed the company all year.

Earnings per diluted share came in at $0.81, nearly double what the company posted for the third quarter of last year. In the earnings release, GM’s CEO Mary Barra credited strong sales in North America and China for carrying the day, especially as GM  GM 1.52%  struggled in Russia and South America, along with the rest of the automotive industry. Here’s a few highlights from the earnings report.

What you need to know: Despite everything, sales are up, up, up. The massive recall earlier this year seems to not have had a very big impact on whether or not people want to buy GM cars, because the firm sold 884,000 in North America last quarter, up from 808,000 the year before. Worldwide sales are up too, to 2.45 million from 2.40 million. As Barra noted, sales are down in Europe and South America, but that was more than made up for by several strong performances in other segments, notably a big increase in Chevrolet trucks sold in the United States.

The big number: Margins are obviously one of the most important numbers in any manufacturing business. For the third quarter, GM produced an operating margin of 9.5% in North America, which is consistent with the goal set earlier this month when Barra set out the firm’s goals moving forward. She said GM hopes to maintain 10% operating margins in North America, and 9-10% margins worldwide. This is the high-end of the range GM said it would aim for when it IPO-ed in 2010.

What you may have missed: It was definitively trucks that carried the day for GM this quarter. The company’s market share for trucks was 24.3%, up more than a percentage point from the previous year. Market share for cars and crossovers, meanwhile, were down, meaning that the overall market share for the company was flat in the United States and down just 0.1% overall.