General Motors reported it will shift production of the gas-powered Cadillac Escalade sport utility vehicles from Arlington, Tex., to the GM Orion Assembly plant in Orion Township, Mich., by 2027. The move follows the announcement in June that the Michigan plant – which previously had been designated an assembling site battery-electric vehicles – will instead be the production center for full-size SUVs and light pickups with internal combustion engines, “to help meet continued strong demand.”
The Orion plant is due to receive a large proportion of the $4-billion capital investment program that GM staked to the new production strategy. That CapEx program also will bring the Chevy Equinox SUVs being assembled at GM Fairfax Assembly in Kansas City, Kan., and Chevrolet Blazer SUVs being assembled at Spring Hill, Tenn.
In addition to the Cadillac SUVs, the Orion plant also will be assembling Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra light-duty pickups, according to the previous announcement.
The automaker’s previous plan called for Orion to start assembling EVs in 2026. Now, GM indicates that the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, Cadillac Escalade IQ, and GMC Hummer EV pickups and SUVs will be built at the Factory Zero operation, in Detroit-Hamtramck, Mich.
Also supporting the renewed commitment to ICE vehicles is an $888-million plan to expand V-8 engine production at Tonawanda, N.Y.
Some of GM’s new production plan is aimed at avoiding tariffs on imported products. It previously announced it will shift Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup production from Silao, Mexico, to the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Assembly plant.
Over the past decade GM has invested heavily in new production capabilities for EVs and fuel-cell technology, but continued strong demand for ICE vehicles has prompted some reassessment of the plan. GM chairwoman and CEO Mary Barra stated in June that the automaker has an “ongoing commitment to build vehicles in the U.S and to support American jobs.
“We're focused on giving customers choice and offering a broad range of vehicles they love,” Barra said then.
