GM To Invest $370M For Small Engine Manufacturing In North America

Flint, Michigan (AHN) - General Motors Corp. said on Thursday that it will invest as much as $370 million to construct a new manufacturing plant for its global four-cylinder engines in Flint, Michigan.

The company said the plant will begin used as an exclusive manufacturing facility in North America to produce the Chevrolet Volt's range extending engine by 2010.

GM said small four-cylinder engines will account for more than half of its North American production in 2011, which is speculated to be higher from 21 percent during last year.

The new facility will be dedicated to produce two engines: a 1.4-liter turbo for the Chevrolet Cruze and 1.4-liter engine for the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV).

"The new 1.4L turbocharged engine has the power of a larger engine, but retains the efficiency of a small-displacement four-cylinder," Tom Stephens, GM executive VP of Global Powertrain and Global Quality, said in a statement on Thursday.

He added, "And with this engine, we expect the Cruze to be a fuel economy leader in its segment when it's introduced in early 2010."

The Flint investment includes the construction of the new 552,000 square foot plant, machinery, equipment and special tooling to support production of the new 4-cylinder engines, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said that the company will infuse an additional $21 million for vendor tooling to support the manufacturing of engines for its hybrid cars. The project will retain about 300 hourly jobs.

Shares of the firm were moving down by 2.80 percent or 29 cents to $10.06 at 02:17 p.m. ET in New York composite trading on Thursday. The stock of the firm has traded between $8.81 to $43.20 in the last 12 months.