AFS Corporate Member General Motors Co. plans to invest $918 million in four U.S. manufacturing sites for V-8 engine production and electric vehicle (EV) components, the company said on January 20, which includes $55 million for casting operations. The announcement brings GM’s U.S. manufacturing facility investment commitments to more than $37 billion since 2013, including the Ultium Cells LLC joint venture plants.

At GM’s Defiance, Ohio, plant, the company will spend $47 million to prepare it for building a variety of block castings to support future V-8 engine programs. Another $8 million will go toward a new casting development cell for castings to support future EV strategies.

"Today we are announcing significant investments to strengthen our industry-leading lineup of full-size pickups and SUVs by preparing four U.S. facilities to build GM’s sixth generation Small Block V-8 engine,” said Gerald Johnson, GM executive vice president of global manufacturing and sustainability. “These investments, coupled with the hard work and dedication of our team members in Flint, Bay City, Rochester, and Defiance, enable us to build world-class products for our customers and provide job security at these plants for years to come.”

Additional details of the plan include:

• Flint Engine Operations in Michigan—GM will invest $579 million to prepare the plant to assemble GM’s sixth generation family of small block V-8 gas engines along with the related block, crank, and head machining. Work at the facility will begin immediately. Flint will continue building the 3.0L turbo-diesel during the facility renovations. GM’s 3.0L diesel is used in a variety of light-duty truck applications.
• Bay City GPS in Michigan—GM will invest $216 million to prepare the facility to build camshafts, connecting rods and block/head machining supporting future V-8 production at Flint Engine Operations.
• Rochester Operations in New York—GM will invest a total of $68 million in the Rochester facility; $12 million will be invested to prepare the facility to build intake manifolds and fuel rails for the future V-8 production at Flint Engine Operations. In addition, the investment includes $56 million for the production of battery pack cooling lines for EV production.