The latest news in General Motors’ ongoing US$2bn roll-out of investments in its US plants is a US$47m spend at Defiance Powertrain in Ohio. The money will be spent on tooling and equipment for extra build of the 1.4-litre Ecotec engine as well as on the next generation of small block car and truck engines.
The Ecotec 1.4 currently features in the North American market versions of the Chevrolet Cruze, as well as in the Chevrolet Volt. It will also power the forthcoming Chevrolet Sonic, which is soon to enter production at Orion Assembly in Michigan.
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Defiance Powertrain, which currently has 1,277 hourly and salaried employees, opened in 1948. It produces 5.8 million parts annually and was last upgraded in 2010 to enable the production of parts for the 1.4-litre petrol engine.
GM began the current series of plant investment announcements for 17 facilities in eight US states on 10 May. Thus far, the news has concerned sites in Bowling Green, Kentucky; Arlington, Texas; Toledo, Ohio; Bedford, Indiana; and Bay City, Detroit, Flint, Lansing and Warren, Michigan.
