GM retools and expands component plant in Indiana
In the USA, General Motors has announced it will invest $491 million in its Marion Metal Center in Indiana to supply electric vehicle production at GM assembly plants across the country. Stamping operations produced in Indiana are increasingly being used in the company’s electric models.
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The investment will go towards the purchase and installation of two new press lines, upgrading presses and tooling, as well as renovation work and the construction of an approximately 560-square-metre addition. General Motors says that the work will begin later this year.
The work should prepare the Marion Metal Centre to produce what the carmaker says is “a variety of steel and aluminium stampings for future products” including electric vehicles. “While this investment prepares the facility for our all-electric future, it’s really an investment in our talented Marion team and will keep the plant working for many years to come,” said Gerald Johnson, GM executive vice president of Global Manufacturing and Sustainability.
The plant, which opened in 1956, employs more than 750 people and produces sheet metal parts for several GM assembly plants that make Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles. Both GM and the UAW union say they expect employment at the plant to remain stable for years with the investment now announced.
Chevrolet recently presented an electric SUV called the Equinox EV, with prices starting from around $30,000. At the same time, Buick dealers are having to make choices as the subsidiary plans to sell only electric cars (and SUVs) by 2030 – dealerships wanting to walk in step with the change, this will entail some retooling, but for others, the company is offering buy-out.
Update 21 November 2022
About two months after announcing investments in a stamping plant, GM announces it will invest in a casting plant, also located in Indiana, in light of the transition to electric mobility. For 45 million US dollars, the Bedford plant will expand its capacity for castings for use in electric drive systems.
Last year, the site already began producing castings for electric powertrains for the GMC Hummer EV pickup truck. With the expansion of capacity, which GM is starting immediately, the corresponding parts for other electric pickup trucks will also be produced in Bedford in the future, specifically for the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV.
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