DETROIT – Common Motors plans to take a position greater than $500 million in a plant in Texas to arrange the ability for manufacturing of its extremely worthwhile next-generation massive SUVs.
The Detroit automaker stated Thursday the funding will embrace new tooling and tools in Arlington Meeting’s stamping, physique store and normal meeting areas for the gas- and diesel-powered Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban and GMC Yukon/Yukon XL SUVs.
The funding is additional affirmation that the corporate plans to proceed to spend on its conventional operations to help in funding its rising electrical automobile enterprise.
GM on Monday made the same announcement for its next-generation heavy-duty pickups, which share the body of the massive SUVS. The truck funding included greater than $1 billion in two Michigan vegetation for manufacturing of next-generation heavy-duty vehicles.
The notably worthwhile autos stay in excessive demand, and gross sales are wanted to help in funding the automaker’s investments in EVs. The corporate has stated it plans to completely provide shopper EVs by 2035. The automaker lately confirmed an all-electric model of its Cadillac Escalade however declined to reveal when the automobile will come to market.
Gross sales of the full-size SUVs totaled greater than 279,000 autos final 12 months, representing about 12% of the automaker’s gross sales and a notable quantity of its earnings.
The funding bulletins come forward of contract negotiations between the Detroit automakers, together with GM, and the United Auto Staff union this summer time.
For traders, UAW negotiations are sometimes a short-term headwind each 4 years that lead to larger prices. However this 12 months’s negotiations are anticipated to be among the many most contentious and necessary in current reminiscence, fueled by a years-long organized labor motion throughout the nation, a pro-union president and an trade in transition to all-electric autos.