GM to Build Out SUV, Electric Car Plants as it Seeks to Turn Corner in 2019

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Three months after it announced dramatic job cuts as some of its long-standing facilities, General Motors Corporation (NYSE:GM) (Detroit, Michigan) is adopting a positive stance toward 2019 as it vowed to expand production of its most in-demand products, particularly sport utility vehicles (SUVs), and is pressing forward with developments of electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous (self-driving) cars. Industrial Info is tracking $4 billion in active projects from GM, including new and expanding facilities that will build or supply SUVs, EVs and self-driving cars.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing GM's active projects, by project type.

GM is in the final stages of a years-long, $1.4 billion expansion of an assembly plant in Arlington, Texas. This includes popular models such as the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Suburban. The Arlington expansion is expected increase SUV production by adding 1.2 million square feet at the facility, for a total of about 5.6 million square feet. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Chief Financial Officer Dhivya Suryadevara said in a recent earnings-related conference call that during the current quarter, the Arlington site would incur "downtime to the tune of 25,000 units as we prepare for the launch of our all-new full-size SUV." Barra noted in the same call that growing demand for SUVs would more than make up for the inevitable slowdown in cash flow: "Last year, Cadillac posted another record year of global sales and we expect continued growth as we introduced a new model roughly every six months through 2021, including the XT6 SUV we unveiled last month."

The Arlington plant also largely escaped GM's highly publicized round of job cuts announced in November. Last month, Barra told reporters that the Arlington plant, along with the company's plants in Flint, Michigan, and Spring Hill, Tennessee, have about 2,700 job openings that could support workers affected by the cuts.

Barra noted that about 1,200 of those jobs would be in Flint, where the company also has high expectations: "We've revealed the Chevrolet Silverado heavy-duty yesterday in Flint and it will go on sales later this year, along with the GMC Sierra heavy-duty." Flint's engine-parts plant is undergoing a $256 million assembly line addition that will boost production of the company's 3.6-liter V6 VVT engines, which are used in SUVs such as the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Engines for many of the vehicles produced at Arlington are built at the Spring Hill facility, where GM recently began construction on $22 million in equipment additions to boost production. The 6.2-liter V8 engine, which is used in vehicles such as the Escalade, Tahoe and Yukon, is one of several products at the Spring Hill facility in which GM has invested more than $2 billion since 2010, according to the company's website. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Last summer, GM announced a partnership with Honda Motor Company (NYSE:HMC) (Tokyo, Japan) to develop batteries for electric vehicles, and in fourth-quarter 2018, the companies announced they would further collaborate on Cruise, GM's self-driving car company. GM is looking at a proposed, $40 million expansion at its battery-assembly plant in Brownstown, Michigan, that would enable greater production of lithium-ion batteries and roof-mounted control modules for autonomous Cruise cars. Brownstown already produces batteries for models such as Chevrolet Volt and Malibu Hybrid. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.