General Motors is not throwing in the towel on gasoline-powered vehicles just yet.
GM said it is investing $632 million in its Fort Wayne, Indiana-area factory that makes gas-powered pickup trucks. The announcement comes on the heels of GM's proposed $500 million investment last week in its Texas plant that makes gas-powered SUVs.
The investments show how GM is hedging its bets that gas vehicles will remain popular for an indefinite period even as automakers worldwide are racing to build factories to meet the expected demand for electric vehicles.
At least $65 billion of industrial developments to make batteries and parts needed for electric vehicles have been announced in the U.S., according to mining company Piedmont Lithium.
GM is aggressively constructing electric vehicle and battery plants in Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee to meet its goal of phasing out gas vehicles by 2035.
While the shift to electric vehicles is certain to happen, it won’t be without bumps in the road, Michael Robinet, executive director of consulting at S&P Global Mobility, wrote in a May report.
“There are still tremendous profits to be made in the internal combustion space over the next couple of decades,” Robinet said. “After all, there are 1.3 billion internal combustion cars on the world’s roads today.”
GM's plant in Roanoke, Indiana, will be expanded to handle “the next generation” of full-size, light-duty trucks powered by internal-combustion engines, GM said in a news release. GM’s Fort Wayne assembly plant builds the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, which was one of the best-selling pickup trucks last year, and the GMC Sierra 1500.
The facility will be equipped with new conveyors, tooling and equipment. Hourly employees at the plant are represented by the United Auto Workers. GM opened the 4.6 million-square-foot Fort Wayne assembly plant in 1986.
“This investment reflects our commitment to our loyal truck customers,” Gerald Johnson, GM's executive vice president of global manufacturing and sustainability, said in the release.
GM declined to provide additional details of its planned next-generation internal combustion engines to CoStar News.
Meanwhile, GM’s planned expansion of its Arlington, Texas, SUV factory is contingent on approval of local financial incentives. GM did not disclose if the planned Indiana facility expansion is contingent on incentives.