GM's Oshawa Plant Increasing Truck Production, CAMI Getting Electric Vans

On Monday, General Motors’ added a second shift for Heavy Duty variants of the Chevrolet Silverado at Oshawa Assembly to ensure the automaker can meet demand. There are also plans to launch a third shift to spur production of light-duty pickups after GM spent the last two years struggling to deliver vehicles in a timely manner.

GM Canada recently representatives from the Canadian federal government, eager to show that its $2 billion investment into Ontario manufacturing (specifically at Oshawa and CAMI Assembly) had already borne fruit. While this is said to eventually include the production of BrightDrop’s all-electric and perpetually connected Zevo vans, GM is presently focused on swelling production on some of its most valuable products.

This comes hot on the heels of the automaker opting to tamp down the output of Cadillac’s sedans and the Chevrolet Camaro, which we previously speculated was being done to avoid any additional shorting of GM’s more-lucrative models.

Premier Doug Ford stated that the investment is a vote of confidence in Ontario by General Motors exists as concrete proof that the cars of the future (he’s talking about those Zevo 400/600 delivery vans) will be built within his province. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau similarly praised GM for spending some money in Canada by focusing on EV production.

“In Oshawa, Ingersoll, and communities across Ontario, auto manufacturers are stepping up to meet demand for clean vehicles and creating thousands of good jobs in the process,” Trudeau said. “Today’s investment is an investment in our workers, our communities, and our future. Partnerships like these are critical to putting Canada on the cutting edge of the clean economy, creating thousands of new jobs, and making sure that future generations have a clean environment to live in.”

To reciprocate, federal and Ontario governments have announced investments of up to $259 million apiece for General Motors’ Oshawa plant and its CAMI facility in Ingersoll.

Production of the BrightDrop Zevo 400 and Zevo 600 electric vans will reportedly commence at the CAMI plant by the fourth quarter of 2022. Both are wholly dependent upon GM’s Ultium model battery design and Ultium drive motor technology and have been sighted in for 30,000 units annually. Meanwhile, production of the light-duty Silverado 1500 will commence at Oshawa Assembly comparatively swiftly after the automaker retooled the plant for its HD equivalents late last year.

[Image: General Motors]