General Motors slows down electric SUV production
According to Reuters, citing insider sources, General Motors’ “market adjustments” are now focused on the Spring Hill plant in Tennessee. The facility manufactures two Cadillac electric SUVs: the Lyriq and the Vistiq. Production of these models will reportedly be reduced in the first five months of 2026, with one of the two shifts temporarily laid off. Additionally, the plant is set to close for an extra week in October and November. The mid-size Lyriq SUV is one of GM’s better-selling electric models, while the larger Vistiq has lower sales.
Reuters also reports that GM is postponing the start of a second shift at its Fairfax assembly plant near Kansas City “indefinitely.” Production of the new Chevrolet Bolt is scheduled to begin there later this year. The model is seen as a key vehicle for GM and is due to reach dealerships in 2026 as the most affordable electric model in the current portfolio. Only teased so far, this second-generation Bolt follows the US bestseller first launched in 2016, which was sold for seven years until 2023.
GM itself has been rather vague about the leaked shift changes and cancellations. The company told Reuters: “General Motors is making strategic production adjustments in alignment with expected slower EV industry growth and customer demand by leveraging our flexible ICE (internal combustion engine) and EV manufacturing footprint.”
Earlier this week, it was announced that the manufacturer also plans to produce fewer units of the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Escalade IQ in Detroit-Hamtramck. Three of the four models now affected by reduced production are conspicuously large electric vehicles. This makes sense insofar as demand in the US has declined, particularly for these large models, and is expected to decline further due to the abolition of the tax credit for electric cars (from 30 September). In contrast, new GM entry-level models such as the Chevrolet Equinox EV and Blazer EV are recording significantly higher sales figures.
Against this backdrop, General Motors presented a more differentiated product strategy in early summer. GM is shifting back to petrol engines in its planned drive mix. At the same time, however, the company announced another affordable next-generation electric vehicle for its plant in Kansas.
GM plans to invest around four billion US dollars over the next two years to increase production at its US plants. Three vehicle plants in Michigan, Kansas and Tennessee are set to benefit most from this investment, with the aim of assembling ‘more than two million vehicles per year in the US’ in future. Exactly how production volumes will be distributed among the various drive types has not been specified. However, GM outlined its planned production start-ups as follows in June:
- The Orion Assembly plant in Michigan will start production of petrol-powered SUVs and light pickups in early 2027. The original plan was to manufacture electric pickups there from 2026.
- The Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas will begin production of the recently launched petrol-powered Chevrolet Equinox, which is currently only built in Mexico, in mid-2027. Fairfax will also begin building the Chevrolet Bolt EV by the end of the year, and part of GM’s newly announced investment will go towards preparing the site for the construction of affordable next-generation electric cars.
- At the Spring Hill Manufacturing plant in Tennessee, GM will begin production of the Chevy Blazer combustion engine vehicle in 2027, which is currently also manufactured in Mexico. It will then be produced alongside the aforementioned electric Cadillacs Lyriq and Vistiq and the petrol-powered Cadillac XT5.
The numerous petrol engine product launches are in line with GM’s recent announcement that it will invest $888 million in the Tonawanda Propulsion plant near Buffalo, New York, to build GM’s next-generation V8 engine. Meanwhile, the Factory Zero plant in Detroit-Hamtramck (also Michigan) is set to remain GM’s dedicated electric vehicle factory and the exclusive assembly site for the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, Cadillac Escalade IQ and GMC Hummer EV (pickup and SUV). However, this will be accompanied by the measures outlined above to temporarily reduce production.
GM is currently recording growing sales figures in the US for both petrol and electric vehicles. The company emphasises that, thanks to the 13 electric car models now available from its brands in the US, it will become the second-largest seller of electric vehicles behind Tesla in the second half of 2024. GM even describes the month of August, which has just ended, as the best month ever for electric vehicles: the manufacturer sold 21,000 battery-powered vehicles across all its brands.
This article was first published by Cora Werwitzke for electrive’s German edition.
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