GM ramps up overseas production to meet U.S. small car demand
Automaker plans massive cuts in SUV production
By Dave Hannon -- Purchasing, 7/22/2008 10:59:00 AM
General Motors has seen such increased demand for its smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles in the U.S. that it has ramped up production at its plants in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, and Bupyung, South Korea and plans to export cars from those plants to the U.S. market.
According to a Dow Jones News report, GM will also add a third shirt at its one U.S. small car factory in Lordstown, Ohio to make more Cobalts, but officials said they are unsure if they need to increase domestic capacity. The Lordstown plant will also make the Cruze, which will replace the Cobalt in mid-2010.
Toyota recently said a planned factory being built in Mississippi will make hybrid vehicles instead of SUVs as originally planned.
GM also plans to cut 300,000 pickups and SUVs out of the production schedule by the end of next year, according to the Associated Press, by accelerating planned closures and reducing shifts. "Virtually no factory is off the table," said Michael Robinet, vice president of global forecast services for CSM Worldwide, an auto industry consulting company based in Northville, Mich.
See also: Automotive Plants in the U.S. Hit the Skids
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