General Motors is investing US$300m in its assembly plant in Orion, Michigan, for production of a new Chevrolet electric vehicle. The move will bring 400 new jobs to the Orion plant. The announcement forms part of GM’s commitment to a total of US$1.8bn investment in its US manufacturing operations.
The new Chevrolet electric vehicle is in addition to the existing Chevrolet Bolt EV, and will be designed and engineered off an advanced version of the current Bolt EV architecture. The new Chevrolet EV is in addition to GM’s previous announcement that Cadillac will be the first brand to deliver vehicles on a future EV platform.
“We are excited to bring these jobs and this investment to the USA,” said GM chairman and CEO Mary Barra. “This new Chevrolet electric vehicle is another positive step toward our commitment to an all-electric future. GM will continue to invest in our US operations where we see opportunities for growth.”
The new electric vehicle had previously been slated for production outside of the USA, and the decision to bring it to Orion was based on a number of factors.
The Orion plant currently builds the Bolt EV, and the new Chevrolet EV will be based off an advanced version of the same vehicle architecture. In addition, moving production to a US plant supports the rules of origin provisions in the proposed United States, Mexico and Canada Agreement.
Orion Assembly currently builds the Chevrolet Bolt EV, Chevrolet Sonic and the Cruise AV test vehicles.
