General Motors has axed plans for a new engine plant and will instead spend about US$250m to build the 1.4-litre four-cylinder Family 0 engine for the Chevy Volt and Cruze in existing floor space in the company’s Flint South engine plant located on Bristol Road.


Preparations will begin this spring and production is targeted to begin in December 2010, the automaker said in a statement.


The engines will be built in an area previously used to make now discontinued 4.2-litre I6 engines for the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and GMC Envoy SUVs which went out of production last December, local reports said.


“Production of Family 0 engines at Flint South will be GM’s most flexible and competitive engine manufacturing lines in the world, with approximately 150 highly flexible stations that will allow production of multiple four-cylinder engine families without retooling,” GM said.


“This means that GM will not invest in new floor space at this time due to current capital expenditure constraints and available floor space in existing facilities.”

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Local reports said the move would slash GM capital investment by $120m.


Volt production is scheduled to start in November 2010 and engines will be supplied from GM’s European operations until the Flint plant is ready, a spokeswoman said.


GM stopped work on the new Flint engine plant last year and cancelled some construction contracts on the new plant in January.