The current assembly plant can’t keep up with the demand
Via Detroit FREEP
General Motors today confirmed it plans to invest a total of $449 million in its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant and Brownstown Township battery factory to expand its electric-vehicle production and make way for two unidentified new products.
The automaker said it would invest $384 million in its Detroit-Hamtramck plant to ready the factory for the redesigned Chevrolet Volt and two new vehicles.
GM also said it would invest $65 million to expand lithium-ion battery production and next-generation battery manufacturing at its Brownstown Township plant.
A source familiar with the company’s plans told the Free Press the investment will involve a second production shift and about 1,400 jobs.
“Today’s news will ensure that the next generation Chevy Volt continues and solidifies that position of leadership,” said Gerald Johnson, GM’s vice president of North America manufacturing, at an Automotive Press Association luncheon. “We want our customers to benefit from our investments in technology and to keep coming back to General Motors for their purchases.”
At the Detroit-Hamtramck plant — which straddles the borders of the two cities — the automaker currently makes the Chevrolet Malibu, Chevy Impala, Cadillac ELR, Chevy Volt and two foreign versions of these cars. GM has invested more than $1 billion in the plant since its Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said the automaker has not yet asked for any tax incentives to support the plant’s expansion.
“When you see GM putting the investment here in future products, it says they have confidence in the men and women building the cars in Detroit and they have confidence in this community,” Duggan said.
Johnson said the Brownstown investment is targeted at “for next generation lithium-ion battery production as well as other future battery systems.”