Amid Electric Vehicle Trends, GM Even Invested 2 Billion US Dollars For ICE Engine SUV Factory

Cadillac Escalade 2023, the most popular luxury SUV with high performance from General Motors. (Doc. Cadillac)

JAKARTA - General Motors (GM) has announced plans for a new investment plan at an assembly plant in Arlington, Texas, United States to prepare for production of an internal combustion engine SUV.

GM will disburse more than 500 million US dollars (about 7.4 trillion rupiah) in this project. The total amount of new investment planned by GM for combustion engine vehicles is more than 2 billion US dollars (about 29 trillion rupiah).

According to a report from Motor1 on June 8, GM previously announced an investment of US$1 billion (approximately 14.8 trillion rupiah) for their Michigan plant that will manufacture combustion engine powered pickups.

Gerald Johnson, Executive Vice President, Global Manufacturing and Sustainability, said, "Today we are announcing a significant investment plan in Arlington to strengthen our industry-leading full-size SUV business."

The investment will lead to increased facilities at the Arlington plant, including stamping areas, body shops, and general assembly.

The factory currently produces large-sized SUVs belonging to GM, such as Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade. These vehicles are the best-selling SUVs in the US market.

With an investment of USD 2 billion, GM will also prepare technology for the future of internal combustion engines. Although several large manufacturers focus on developing electric vehicle models, GM will also expand the segment of electric vehicles in the future.

GM's goal in making this investment is still unclear whether it is related to the development of synthetic fuel for internal combustion engines or simply because of the increasing popularity of the internal combustion engine SUV in the US.