General Motors is to invest US$918m in four manufacturing sites, including US$850m to prepare these facilities to produce the company’s sixth-generation small block V8 engine and an additional US$68m in Rochester, New York and Defiance, Ohio for castings and components to support EV production. The company states that these investments will enable it to strengthen its full-size truck and SUV business and continue to support its growing EV product portfolio.
“We are announcing significant investments to strengthen our industry-leading line-up of full-size pickups and SUVs by preparing four US facilities to build GM’s sixth-generation small block V8 engine,” said Gerald Johnson, GM executive vice president of global manufacturing and sustainability. “These investments, coupled with the hard work and dedication of our team members in Flint, Bay City, Rochester and Defiance, enable us to build world-class products for our customers and provide job security at these plants for years to come.”
At the company’s Flint Engine Operations facility in Michigan, US$579m will be invested to prepare the plant to assemble GM’s sixth-generation family of small block V8 gas engines along with the related block, crank and head machining. Work at the facility will begin immediately. Flint will continue building the 3.0-liter turbo-diesel during the facility renovations.
At GM’s Bay City GPS site in Michigan, US$216m will be spent to prepare the facility to build camshafts, connecting rods and block/head machining supporting future V8 production at Flint Engine Operations. Meanwhile, at Defiance Operations in Ohio, US$47m will be invested to prepare the facility to build a variety of block castings to support future V8 engine programs. In addition, the investment includes US$8m to build a casting development cell to support future EV strategies.
Finally, at its Rochester Operations site in New York, GM will invest a total of US$68m. US$12m will be used to prepare the facility to build intake manifolds and fuel rails for future V8 production at Flint Engine Operations. In addition, US$56m is to be spent on production equipment for battery pack cooling lines for EVs.