GM receives tax break for factory renovation
General Motors has been granted a tax break for a planned $1.3 billion investment to expand its Orion Township assembly plant in Michigan to produce more electric cars, according to U.S. media.
To note, the investment is to be $1.3 billion, not the tax abatement. The exact amount of that is not yet known, with the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News writing only of a “major tax break” that Orion Township officials decided to give. According to the report, the exact amount of tax that GM will pay after the investment – and the resulting increase in the value of the plant – is still being determined by the taxing authority.
In its application for the tax abatement, GM said it plans to begin the plant expansion in July and complete the expansion by December 2025. According to Detroit News, GM had applied for the maximum time period allowed for tax abatements, specifically for 12 years plus three years during construction. The project, which mainly includes several additions and other improvements to “support electric vehicle production,” is expected to “create or retain” about 2,000 jobs by 2028. Currently, 1,181 people are employed at the plant, which opened in 1983, according to GM’s website.
Orion Township produces the Chevrolet Bolt EV and its offshoot Bolt EUV – currently the only models, with production of the internal combustion Chevrolet Sonic small car already phased out in 2020. However, production is suspended until February because of the electric model recall due to battery issues. GM is prioritizing available batteries for battery replacement as part of the recall, and those batteries will be missing from new car production.
It is not yet clear what other electric models GM plans to produce there in the future. The Detroit News, citing sources close to GM, writes that e-pickups based on the all-electric Ultium will be built there. A GM spokesman welcomed the township’s decision but could not yet provide details because “the specific project GM plans to build at the facility has yet to be approved.”
Orion Township is slated to become the corporation’s second all-electric car plant after Detroit-Hamtramck.
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