GM Canada investing $12 million in Oshawa Assembly and CAMI Body Shop

Automaker General Motors Canada will invest $12 million to increase Chevrolet Equinox production on the consolidated production line at Oshawa Assembly and for related changes in the body shop at CAMI Assembly.

In a statement, the company said the investment in Ontario-based production and supplier tools will help to meet strong North American customer demand for the Chevrolet Equinox. The investment extends plans for ongoing Oshawa Assembly Consolidated Line production to 2017.

According to GM, the new investment builds on its Ontario Equinox “shuttle program” and allows the company to ramp up production in a timely and cost-effective way. The Equinox Shuttle program was established between GM’s Ingersoll CAMI and Oshawa Assembly operations in 2010. CAMI’s Body Shop produces extra Chevrolet Equinox units beyond the plant’s existing capacity to paint and assemble them. Vehicle body assemblies are then shipped to the Oshawa plant for paint and final assembly.

The Oshawa Assembly plant currently produces the Chevrolet Equinox and the previous generation Chevrolet Impala on its ‘Consolidated Line’ as well as the Buick Regal, the current model Chevrolet Impala, the Chevrolet Camaro and the Cadillac XTS on its ‘Flex Line’.
The company has announced the Chevrolet Camaro will end production in Oshawa in November 2015 and expects to manage that change without layoffs, due the use of incentivized retirement programs.

In the past three years, GM has invested approximately $800 million in its Oshawa and St. Catharines operations, and recently announced a further $800 million investment in its CAMI operation in Ingersoll, Ont.