As the automotive recycling sector undergoes rapid transformation, Evelyne Barberot, Director General of GPA, a leading autorecycling operation in France, shares insights into the company’s journey, the evolving industry, and the challenges and opportunities ahead. From developing circular economy practices to advocating for gender inclusion, GPA has positioned itself at the forefront of sustainable mobility. In this discussion, she reflects on key regulatory shifts, France’s leadership in vehicle recycling, and GPA’s vision for the future in an industry adapting to EV advancements and environmental responsibility.
GPA: A Family Legacy Leading the Future of Automotive Recycling
GPA is a family business established in Drôme in 1962 by my parents (Léone and Edward Renaud). The company very quickly became an automobile recovery and dismantling company.
Today, the company has become a national leader in auto recycling (cars, motorcycles, heavy goods vehicles, agricultural machinery), both thermal and electric.
Now, GPA is led by second and third generations. We employ more than 300 people and are spread across three sites across France: one 24 ha, one 10 ha, and one 6.5 ha. In 2024, we achieved a turnover of €80 million, processing 34,000 vehicles annually.
In recent years, I have been mainly responsible for the societal transformation of our company. In 2020, we formalized a CSR policy. Since October 2023, GPA has become the first mission-driven automotive recycler. In October 2024, we created a corporate endowment fund “GPA fund Léone and Edward Renaud for living territories”, which I chair.
Transforming Auto Recycling: Innovation, Inclusion & Industry Evolution
Our sector is constantly transforming, subject to more and more rules and standards. We also had to transform the image of our profession. At the same time, we have experienced a concentration of automobile recycling players.
In this context, we wanted to play a major role by adopting exemplary and innovative practices, particularly in the area of equality between women and men. We have also revolutionized how we practice our profession, by industrializing and becoming multi-site.
Since our beginnings, we have wanted to place people at the heart of our concerns. It’s ingrained in our DNA. Our employees were approached and we obtained the Great Place To Work label.
Even though we hold a special place in our sector, we see that there is still a long way to go to achieve parity, particularly in management or management positions.
We have our part to play in this fight.
ELV Regulations: Advancing Circular Economy & Strengthening Industry Collaboration
It is important to remember that this regulation introduced a new idea on a European scale. Europe has created regulations relating to the construction of new vehicles, and at the same time, in the same regulations, it provides the methods of recycling these vehicles. The regulations therefore think about the automobile in a circular manner.
These new rules will position automobile recyclers as preferred partners for manufacturers and equipment suppliers. We are sources of reused parts and secondary raw materials. These notions of reuse and circularity are at the heart of this new regulation.
At GPA, we made the choice very early on, in 2019, to industrialize our deconstruction process. This step is a major advantage, because it allows us to save time, we are more rigorous, and we have been able to increase our quality criteria. This requirement allows us to offer a two-year warranty, but it also allows us to become real contacts for manufacturers and equipment manufacturers.
France’s EPR System: A Model for European Vehicle Recycling Regulations?
France is often ahead of the curve on regulatory issues. However, it is still a little too early to measure the positive impact of this new regulation. If our country is at the forefront of vehicle recycling, it will, therefore, be necessary to use it.
However, if the effects are very positive, it will be interesting to consider extending it across the entire European territory.
GPA’s Vision for the Future: Adapting to Industry Shifts & Advancing Circular Mobility
The vehicle fleet has experienced and will continue to experience profound changes for several years, particularly with the end of thermal engines and their replacement by electric vehicles.
First, we have a profession with a very high added social value. We allow as many people as possible to maintain their vehicles at a lower cost. Mobility is a condition for leading a professional and social life.
Once these vehicles are truly at the end of their life, we must recycle them in the most virtuous way possible and thus allow a car to become a car again. We will succeed in achieving the perfect circularity of this consumer good.
The rapid deployment of electric vehicles is also transforming our profession. We will therefore have to adapt to this revolution. We will therefore have to be able to process, recover and recycle these battery packs.
We took on the challenge of building a new, even larger, and even more modern factory to be at the forefront of efficiency in the recovery and recycling of end-of-life vehicles.
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