General Motors’ flagship electric truck plant in Detroit will idle for four weeks starting June 27 to prepare for a production expansion.
The downtime of the Factory Zero electric truck plant, which currently builds the GMC Hummer EV pickup, was confirmed to Automotive News by GM spokesman Dan Flores. He said that GM scheduled downtime at the plant to add production capacity sooner than planned, as the automaker plans to install tooling, machinery and equipment while workers are laid off from June 27 through July 22.
“These upgrades will also help prepare the plant for future products, including the Chevrolet Silverado EV.”
General Motors plans to build the Silverado EV and GMC Sierra Denali electric pickups at Factory Zero, as well as the Cruise Origin ride-hail and delivery van.
GMC has delivered 99 Hummer EV pickups to customers in the first quarter of 2022, but demand for the truck and the Hummer EV SUV, which is scheduled to launch next year, remains strong. The carmaker says it has more than 77,500 reservations for the Hummer EV pickup and Hummer EV SUV combined.
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Starting this fall, Factory Zero, previously known as Detroit-Hamtramck, will also assemble Ultium battery cells into modules and packs for a variety of future electric vehicles from GM and its partners.
General Motors’ Factory Zero reopened in 2021 following a $2.2 billion investment to upgrade it for electric truck production. The company’s first fully dedicated all-EV facility occupies 365 acres in Hamtramck and has 710 employees.
In related news, GMC recently announced a $6,250 price hike for all Hummer EV pickup and SUV models, effective June 18. The carmaker said the higher starting MRSP is due to “the increase in the price of commodity parts, technology and logistics.”
Mind you, GM noted that the price increase only applies to reservations placed on or after June 18; all existing Hummer EV reservations, regardless of trim or model, placed before June 18 will see no increase to the base MSRP of their vehicle.
After the price increase, the GMC Hummer EV pickup starts at $86,645 for the base EV 2 trim level and tops at $106,245 for the range-topping EV 3X (including a $1,995 Delivery Freight Charge).
