Ever since the revised Chevrolet Equinox and new GMC Terrain went on sale last summer, General Motors has had a hard time keeping up with demand. To meet the unrelenting demand, GM will begin producing the two crossovers next to the Chevrolet Camaro at its Oshawa, Ontario, Canada factory.
With GM’s new plan, only the body production facility at Ingersoll must be expanded instead of the whole production facility. The bodies produced at CAMI will then be shipped to GM’s Oshawa plant where the Equinox and Terrain are set to be assembled next the Chevrolet Impala and Camaro. Final assembly and painting will take place at the Oshawa plant as well.
“This plan for CAMI and Oshawa allows us to meet customer demand for hot products while avoiding a potential production over-capacity situation by creatively using our assets and facilities,” said Mark Reuss, president of GM North America. “This innovative approach enables us to ramp up in a timely manner and cost-effective way and highlights the importance of these plans and communities in our North American plans.”
In order to produce the extra crossovers, GM anticipates it will recall around 600 laid off workers at Oshawa and all of the laid off workers at CAMI as well as adding 70 new jobs by the time production begins in October. By the end of the year, the new Buick Regal will also be added to GM’s Oshawa plant and by that time, GM expects all of the laid off Oshawa workers will have been recalled.