As the nation continues to slowly recover from the economic recession, it seems that the auto industry is beginning to show signs of life. Late last week, General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre announced that the automaker should be in a position to repay roughly $8 billion in debt to the U.S. government by June 2010.

Furthermore, Whitacre indicated that the government would be able to sell all of its equity in GM for a profit, according to Automotive News. Currently, U.S. taxpayers own 61 percent of General Motors stock.

“For the first time in over a decade, General Motors has a healthy, clean balance sheet,” said Whitacre. “We are not being crushed under mountains of debt. We have a cost structure that works.”

Meanwhile, GM’s new CEO has completely reorganized the company’s sales and marketing teams, a decision that he believes has contributed to the U.S. car manufacturer’s 20 percent market share.

With the economy improving and unemployment rates stabilizing, new and used car sales are expected to significantly trump last year’s numbers.