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General Motors today told its St. Catharines, Ontario workforce that it plans to invest at the plant to manufacture new Ultium electric drive units for GM’s growing electric vehicle lineup. This investment plan would be expected to support around 500 jobs at the St. Catharines facility and enable the production of more than 400,000 EV drive units a year – subject to completing support agreements with the Canadian Federal and Ontario governments.
With hundreds of good-paying jobs at stake, it’s unlikely such supporting agreements won’t be forthcoming in AutoInformed’s view. We would be more troubled by the fate of the Toronto Maple Leafs as the NHL trade deadline and the Stanley Cup approach.
“This is a time of historic transformation for our industry and with this significant investment, St. Catharines will play a critical role in our EV future,” said Marissa West, president and managing director of GM Canada. “The St. Catharines team produces engines and transmissions for many of GM’s most popular vehicles, including full size trucks, SUVs and Corvette and we are very excited to announce our plans supply critical drive units as well. This will support GM’s plans to build 1 million electric vehicles a year in North America by 2025.”
The drive units built at St. Catharines will be used in vehicles built on GM’s flexible Ultium EV architecture. During 2023 planned are the electric Cadillac LYRIQ, Chevrolet Equinox EV, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, and GMC HUMMER SUV EV. All will debut in the North American market.
The new St. Catharines investment builds upon other contemporary GM Canada investments including a C$28 million Renewable Energy Cogeneration project at St. Catharines; Canada’s first large-scale EV plant in Ingersoll Ontario, now making the BrightDrop Zevo600; a new Ultium CAM Cathode Active Materials facility now under construction in Bécancour, Quebec; expansion of GM’s Canadian Technology Centre in Oshawa and Markham, Ontario, including a new 55-acre CTC McLaughlin Advanced Technology Track; and the reopening and return to three shifts of pickup production at Oshawa Assembly.
AutoInformed on
St. Catharines Propulsion Plant
- Opened: 1952
- Size: 2 million square-foot building, on 140-acre property
- Employment: Approximately 1100 people, including Salary and Hourly, as of January 2023
- Union: Unifor Local 199
- Products:
- 3L and 6.2L V8 Engines (full-size trucks and SUVs, Chevrolet Camaro)
- 6L V6 Engines (midsize SUVs, Cadillac CT4-V)
- Six-speed transmission (Chevrolet Equinox)
- 8-speed Dual Clutch Transmission (Chevrolet Corvette)
- Environmental:
- Certified Landfill-free since 2008, with 98% of all waste materials diverted from landfills
- Energy co-generation plant cut greenhouse gas emissions from operations by 70%
- Community involvement:
- $267,000 donated to community organizations in 2022
- Recognized for contributing $31 million to the United Way Niagara since 1954, accounting for one-third of all donations to the organization
GM St. Catharines Plant to Build Ultium EV Drive Units
Click for more information.
General Motors today told its St. Catharines, Ontario workforce that it plans to invest at the plant to manufacture new Ultium electric drive units for GM’s growing electric vehicle lineup. This investment plan would be expected to support around 500 jobs at the St. Catharines facility and enable the production of more than 400,000 EV drive units a year – subject to completing support agreements with the Canadian Federal and Ontario governments.
With hundreds of good-paying jobs at stake, it’s unlikely such supporting agreements won’t be forthcoming in AutoInformed’s view. We would be more troubled by the fate of the Toronto Maple Leafs as the NHL trade deadline and the Stanley Cup approach.
“This is a time of historic transformation for our industry and with this significant investment, St. Catharines will play a critical role in our EV future,” said Marissa West, president and managing director of GM Canada. “The St. Catharines team produces engines and transmissions for many of GM’s most popular vehicles, including full size trucks, SUVs and Corvette and we are very excited to announce our plans supply critical drive units as well. This will support GM’s plans to build 1 million electric vehicles a year in North America by 2025.”
The drive units built at St. Catharines will be used in vehicles built on GM’s flexible Ultium EV architecture. During 2023 planned are the electric Cadillac LYRIQ, Chevrolet Equinox EV, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, and GMC HUMMER SUV EV. All will debut in the North American market.
The new St. Catharines investment builds upon other contemporary GM Canada investments including a C$28 million Renewable Energy Cogeneration project at St. Catharines; Canada’s first large-scale EV plant in Ingersoll Ontario, now making the BrightDrop Zevo600; a new Ultium CAM Cathode Active Materials facility now under construction in Bécancour, Quebec; expansion of GM’s Canadian Technology Centre in Oshawa and Markham, Ontario, including a new 55-acre CTC McLaughlin Advanced Technology Track; and the reopening and return to three shifts of pickup production at Oshawa Assembly.
AutoInformed on
St. Catharines Propulsion Plant