GM's Orion Assembly Reopening Delayed Until Late 2025
The UAW strike is dragging on, but automakers still have everyday business problems to deal with, like how to produce millions of electric vehicles and sell them. It turns out that the “other” problems are just as serious as the strike, and General Motors’ recent announcement is a great example. Earlier this week, the automaker noted that it would push production of its upcoming electric pickup trucks back at one of its Detroit-area facilities.
GM cited high demand and a need to upgrade the Orion facility before production and said the delay had nothing to do with the strike. Consumer demand is a moving target, and the company needs to improve its manufacturing processes to reduce costs and improve profitability.
At the same time, GM will continue forward with Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Hummer EV pickup production at its Factory Zero location nearby. The company will likely add another shift to the facility to support GMC Sierra EV production in 2024 when it arrives.
GM’s 1,000 Orion Assembly employees will be eligible for a temporary transfer to other locations in Michigan and can return to Orion once the updates are complete. That said, the retooling was initially scheduled to be completed in early 2025, so the move to reopen late in the year could be disruptive for some employees. The upside here is that GM plans to invest billions in the facility, and CEO Mary Barra noted that the company would triple employment when Orion reopens.
[Image: General Motors]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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"Consumer demand is a moving target, and the company needs to improve its manufacturing processes to reduce costs and improve profitability."
That's a paraphrase of the statement from GM.
Translation: "We designed an EV that is way too costly to build and sell. Consequently people won't buy it and we'll lose our shirt if we actually build it. So we have to initiate a crash program to redesign it for lower cost."
Not said, but possibly in the background: an electric truck can't really do all truck things all the time. "Professional Grade" will ring hollow if your electric truck is really "Amateur Grade".
GM may also be freaking out as Ford's Lightning inventory piles up. https://insideevs.com/news/692017/report-8000-ford-f150-lightning-dealers/
More good news for Tesla and the Cybertruck, which Musk said it started out as a JOKE, not a serious design, and ended up being made, and has 2 million reservations.
Anyone know if this plant is one where the Ultium packs are being built?
We all saw this coming. Barra stated a year ago GM EV sales would top a million by 2025. Barra nose grows larger as GM sales drop