GM plans to close four major lightweight truck plants

According to FleetOwner.com, General Motors has announced it will be closing four North American plants that produce pickups, SUVs, and light- and medium-duty trucks.

GM plans to shut down the Oshawa Truck Assembly line in Oshawa, Canada, which manufactures the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra and the plant in Moraine, Ohio, that builds the Chevy TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Saab 9-7x some time next year. Also the Janesville, Wisconsin, plant will stop production of light-duty trucks by next year followed by stopping production of the Tahoe, Suburban and Yukon in 2010. Last, the Toluca, Mexico facility will be hit by this planned closure some time at the end of this year.

"From the start of our North American turnaround plan in 2005, I've said our goal is not just to return GM to profitability, but to structure GM globally for sustained profitability and growth," says Rick Wagoner, GM chairman & CEO. "Since the first of this year, however, U.S. economic and market conditions have become significantly more difficult. Higher gasoline prices are changing consumer behavior, and they are significantly affecting the U.S. auto industry sales mix."

Chris Brady, president of Commercial Motor Vehicle Consulting (CMVC), told FleetOwner the "The Big Three" have become more heavily reliant on light-duty trucks and SUVs, and they're getting hit harder than other automakers because of high gas prices. GM's future plans consist of focusing on more on fuel-efficient cars such as the Chevy Aveo and Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid electric vehicle due by the end of 2010.

Source: FleetOwner.com