GM to Invest $494 Million in U.S. Manufacturing for Next-Generation Ecotec Engines
By Scott Doggett February 18, 2010
General Motors will invest more than $494 million and create nearly 550 jobs in three U.S. plants to produce the next generation fuel-efficient Ecotec engine, the automaker announced today.
That's "Ecotec," not "EcoBoost" - Ford's competing line of shrinking-yet-increasingly-powerful engines.
The GM project consists of the following:
- $425 million investment at GM's Tonawanda, N.Y., to add capacity for the next generation Ecotec engine at 370,000 per year and bring about 470 jobs to that community;
- $59 million investment at GM's Defiance, Ohio, plant to support precision sand cast block at a capacity of 188,000 annually and result in about 80 jobs to that community;
- $10.5 million investment in GM's Bay City, Michigan, plant to bring new product to the plant (specifically, the Ecotec connecting rod) and to create about 15 jobs for that plant.
"GM is transforming its product portfolio to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, and the next-generation Ecotec engine is an integral part of that transformation," GM Vice President Denise Johnson said in a statement.
She said GM's investment in state-of-the-art four-cylinder engines is another example of the company's commitment to replace larger-displacement engines with more compact four-cylinder engines that optimize fuel savings and performance.
The investment in Tonawanda, supported by the investments at Defiance and Bay City, will go toward producing two next-generation Ecotec engines. The new engines will have additional capabilities to improve fuel efficiency and improve performance through advanced design and by adding technology.
For competitive reasons, specifics about the engine capabilities as well as product applications will be shared at a later date, GM said.
The Ecotec family of engines is currently available in 2.0-liter, 2.2-liter and 2.4-liter displacements.
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