Kimberly Fuhr, member of the local UAW 5960, inspected a Boulon Chevrolet EV during the production of vehicles on May 6, 2021, at the assembly plant of General Motors Orion in Orion Township, Michigan.
Steve Fecht for Chevrolet
DETROIT – General Motors plans to invest 4 billion dollars in three American assembly factories, including moving or increasing the production of two vehicles produced in Mexican to American factories.
Detroit's automaker announced the plans on Tuesday because there have been few indications for progress in commercial talks between the Trump administration and Mexican leaders. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump implemented 25% of prices on imported vehicles and 25% of rates on many automotive parts imported into the United States
GM said the investment will add an assembly of the Chevrolet Blazer and the Chevrolet Equinox at gas that are currently produced in Mexico to two other factories in the United States and convert a large idle factory in Michigan – formerly supposed to build all electric trucks – to make submarines and gas trucks in 2027.
GM refused to discuss the future of the Ramos Arizpe factory which currently produces vehicles in Mexico. A familiar source with plans said that the production of the Blazer will move fully in the United States from Mexico, while the production of the equinox should be additive to the Mexican factory, which will also produce for other markets.
The investment and movements will probably be praised as a victory for Trump's policies and automotive prices, which took effect for vehicles imported in April and many automotive parts in May.
“We believe that the future of transport will be motivated by American innovation and the expertise of manufacturing,” said Mary Barra, CEO of GM, in a press release. “Today's announcement demonstrates our continuous commitment to building vehicles in the United States and supporting American jobs. We focus on choosing customers and the offer of a wide range of vehicles they love.”
The new investment, which will take place until 2027, will give GM the possibility of assembling more than two million vehicles per year in the United States, according to the automaker.
The GM stock course in 2025.
GM said that its Fairfax assembly in Kansas would add the production of the gas chevrolet to gas from mid-2027. The gas chevrolet blazer will be added to the assembly of Spring Hill in Tennessee from 2027, according to the company.
UAW president Shawn Fain, who supported Trump's prices, praised GM samples and investment.
“GM’s decision to invest billions in American factories and prioritize American workers is exactly why we spoke in favor of these automotive prices,” Fain said in a statement on Wednesday. “The writing is on the wall: the downward race is over. We have an excess manufacturing capacity in our existing factories, and automobile companies can easily bring good union jobs to the United States”
Detroit's automaker said that its capital expenditure guidelines in 2025 were unchanged between $ 10 and 11 billion dollars. But he expects annual capital expenses between $ 10 and $ 12 billion until 2027.
GM analyzes its North American production footprint for months in the middle of the prices, with leaders saying that they were not going to make decisions – in place of a “wait and see” approach – until they have more clarity on the regulatory environment, including car withdrawals.
The chief executive of the managing director, Paul Jacobson, said at the end of last month at an investor event in Bernstein that the prices would probably not be “as bad as the market reacted”. He said potential trade agreements with other countries and the automaker's capacity to mitigate certain prices were promising signs.
Detroit's automaker previously said that he expected to be able to compensate between 30% and 50% of North American prices without deploying short-term capital.
The CEO of GM, Mary Barra, during the Bernstein event, said that the company “would see us being very resilient and, once again, strengthening our things as we advance – in some cases, seize opportunities where vehicles succeed.”
These opportunities now seem to include additional expenses on electric vehicles. The Orion's assembly plant in the suburbs of Detroit, which will be remutched for gas products, should be its second exclusive EV factory in the United States