The Fort Wayne Plant will produce next-gen ICE-powered full-size light-duty trucks.
After investing more than $500 million in its Arlington Assembly plant in Texas, General Motors (GM) is further looking to keep the internal combustion engine (ICE) alive as it plans to invest $632 million in its Fort Wayne Assembly hub.
The planned new investment is geared towards producing GM's next-generation ICE-powered full-size light-duty trucks, which is seen to strengthen the company's market share in the United States truck segment.
This was confirmed by GM executive vice president Gerald Johnson who said that the recent investment shows the company's commitment to its loyal truck customers.
“Today we are announcing a significant investment to continue our industry-leading full-size truck business by preparing Fort Wayne Assembly to build the next-generation ICE full-size light-duty pickups. This investment reflects our commitment to our loyal truck customers and the hard work of the dedicated Fort Wayne team,” said Johnson.
GM's Fort Wayne Assembly plant produces the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the GMC Sierra 1500. The investment will bring about new conveyors as well as new tooling and equipment in the plant's body and general assembly areas.
The additional funding made by GM to its Fort Wayne facility aims to keep the Silverado among the leading full-size light-duty pickup trucks in the US as the company prepares for the auto industry's imminent shift to offering fully electric vehicles.
The investment also follows GM's lead in keeping ICE-powered vehicles alive after announcing that will invest more than $1 billion in two Flint, Michigan-based manufacturing plants. This plant will take charge of producing the next-generation GM vehicles such as the Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD and the GMC Sierra 3500HD.
GM is also making strides in accelerating mass electric vehicle (EV) adoption. GM recently forged a partnership with Tesla to allow owners to use Tesla's 12,000 supercharger network throughout North America starting in 2024.
GM CEO Mary Barra previously said that the partnership with Tesla will allow the company to save around $400 million in the expansion of its EV charging infrastructure. GM will also integrate the Tesla supercharger network into its vehicle and mobile apps to quickly locate the available charging stations.
Aside from GM, Ford has also forged a partnership with Tesla granting its clients access to the supercharger network in the US and Canada in 2024.
Keyword: GM's ICE-Powered Trucks Get Another Vote Of Confidence After $630 Million Investment