General Motors announced today that it will invest $1.4 billion in its Arlington Assembly Plant in Texas to “more competitively produce” full-size SUV. Arlington is the sole assembly plant for GM's Chevrolet Tahoes and Suburbans, GMC Yukons and Yukon XLs and Cadillac Escalades.
The United Autoworkers-staffed plant will be reconfigured with a new paint shop and body shop and general assembly area upgrades. Construction is expected to begin this summer and take approximately three years to complete.
The investment is to upgrade equipment, with no plans to increase the workforce at Arlington or increase production of the vehicles, said General Motors spokesman Bill Grotz.
The U.S. SUV market has seen an upswing with the decrease in gas prices, while small car sales have suffered. In June, GM announced it would cut back on production of two subcompact cars in Orion, Mich., the Buick Verano and Chevrolet Sonic, citing a dip in demand.
Production schedules will be unaffected by the construction at Arlington, GM said in a statement.
This year, Arlington Assembly celebrated its 10 millionth vehicle build. It is the only GM plant to make full-size SUVs for Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac customers globally.
Today’s announcement is a part of the $5.4 billion GM plans on investing in U.S. manufacturing over the next three years. Approximately $4.5 billion has been announced thus far, including $1 billion for GM's Warren Technical Center in Michigan and $1.2 billion for its Fort Wayne truck plant.
