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General Motors Invests $300 Million, Adds 400 Jobs At Orion For New Chevy EV

Remember when General Motors promised the Bolt would pave the way for two electric crossovers? Neither is here with us, and given Tesla’s advancements, the higher-ups at GM are losing their credibility.
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$300 million of a total of $1.8 billion in investments are going into Orion Township, Michigan to produce “a new Chevrolet electric vehicle.” Too little or too late, you decide on that. The American automaker sweetens the deal by adding 400 new jobs to the Orion plant, which is great news considering how many plants General Motors is closing in North America.

“We are excited to bring these jobs and this investment to the U.S.,” declared chief executive officer Mary Barra in Orion. “This new Chevrolet electric vehicle is another positive step toward our commitment to an all-electric future.” As opposed to Tesla or even Ford with the Mach E, the golden bowtie doesn’t mention anything at all about the body style of the yet-to-be-named model.

The announcement did include “based off an advanced version of the same vehicle architecture” as the Bolt, but that’s not nearly enough. With the Hyundai Kona Electric, Tesla Model 3, and Nissan Leaf Plus out there in stock, General Motors has to come up with a trailblazing product if the higher-ups expect to profit on the Bolt-derived newcomer.

Moving on to internal combustion, Flint Truck Assembly is in the process of adding 1,000 jobs. The Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant prepares to roll out the Cadillac CT5, and speaking of Cadillac, the crown jewel of General Motors will introduce a crossover-styled EV on an all-new platform.

Investments are pouring into Lansing Delta Township and Romulus Propulsion too, as well as Spring Hill in Tennessee. More than $22 billion have been invested by General Motors in U.S. manufacturing operations since 2009, but what for? All of the automaker’s brands are discontinuing products over dwindling sales, and the EV revolution is still far from full swing. Come on, GM, you can do better!
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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