On the day that the world's largest Chevrolet dealer announced it is shutting its doors, General Motors said it will spend $370 million to build a new engine plant in Flint, Michigan, to support its new electric hybrid, the Chevy Volt.
The factory will also turn out GM's four-cylinder engines for its vehicles that are sold overseas. Production is set to begin in 2010.
The investment includes construction of the new 552,000 square foot plant, machinery, equipment and special tooling to support production of the new 4-cylinder engines. In addition to the $349 million facility investment, GM said it will invest an additional $21 million for vendor tooling to support the new Flint operations. Construction on the new facility is slated to begin immediately.
The two engines to be built at the plant are a 1.4-liter turbo for the Chevrolet Cruze and 1.4-liter naturally aspirated engine for the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle. Both engines are for cars that GM hopes will help reposition it in the post-SUV world.
"The new 1.4L turbo for the Chevrolet Cruze highlights GM's global commitment to offering engines that provide outstanding fuel efficiency without compromising vehicle performance," said Tom Stephens, GM Executive Vice President of Global Powertrain. "The new 1.4L turbocharged engine has the power of a larger engine, but retains the efficiency of a small-displacement four-cylinder. And with this engine, we expect the Cruze to be a fuel economy leader in its segment when it's introduced in early 2010."
GM unveiled the Volt earlier this month, pinning its corporate hopes on this second-generation hybrid technology. The Volt will be powered by a bank of batteries that can be recharged by plugging them into an electric outlet overnight. In addition, a small engine in the car will recharge the batteries while the car is underway.
