Buetow, who is presently the head of manufacturing in China for GM, has since his arrival in 2015 witnessed the launch and development of 12 new facilities in the country, a feat he said would not be possible in other regions around the world.

Among these new factories is the state-of-the-art plant for Cadillac in Shanghai at SAIC-GM, the joint venture between Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation and the US automotive giant. This year, the second phase of SAIC-GM's plant in Wuhan, Hubei province, was put into operation. The plant has a body shop that features 773 world-leading Global3+ robots and has a 100 percent welding automation capability.

Buetow said that one of the responsibilities in his current role is helping GM factories in China implement lean and intelligent methods of manufacturing that would boost productivity and market competitiveness. He explained that this is imperative as the Chinese auto market is growing quickly and can now be considered on par with other developed markets around the world.

"People here are already moving away from the standard cars to SUVs and we're getting more repeat customers than first-time buyers. Capacity is also starting to level off. We need to embrace technology if we want to succeed," he said.

"The automobile industry here has become extremely automated. Our plants here at SAIC-GM have the same level of automation as the others around the world," he added.

Born in Michigan, one of the strongholds of US car manufacturers, Buetow said he developed a love for cars when he was 15, spending much time hanging around garages and tinkering with car components. He started his career at GM's power train department when he was just 17.

Buetow went on to work in other areas including assembly, purchasing, supply and quality, as well as manufacturing engineering. He has never left the company since the day he joined.

"I love my job because this is an exciting industry. Very few things in life elicit as much emotion as automobiles do. It's a combination of art, fashion and technology," he said.

The other thing Buetow has a penchant for is widening his perspectives and learning through new life experiences, which explains why he left his hometown to work in foreign cities like Montreal, Canada, Sao Paulo and now, Shanghai. He concedes that work is a very intrinsic part of his life.