GM plans to move new Camaro production from Canada to Mich.

[ozpont]

GM plans to move new Camaro production from Canada to Mich.

Automotive News | December 19, 2012 - 12:19 pm EST
UPDATED: 12/19/12 1:32 pm ET - adds confirmations, details

General Motors plans to move production of the next-generation Chevrolet Camaro to Michigan from Canada.

The Camaro, currently made in Oshawa, Ontario, will be built at the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Lansing, Mich., GM said today in a statement.

The automaker cited “lower capital investment” and “improved production efficiencies” as reasons for the shift.

Moving Camaro duties to the Grand River plant allows GM to consolidate production of the rear-wheel-drive sports car with the rwd Cadillac CTS and ATS. The Camaro was the only rwd vehicle assembled at the Oshawa plant, GM said.

A GM spokesman declined to comment further on the move.
The new Camaro is not expected until the 2015 or 2016 model years. GM sold 78,554 Camaros in the United States through November, down 4 percent from the same 11 months of 2011, according to the Automotive News Data Center.

Canadian Auto Workers Union angry

The Canadian Auto Workers union reacted harshly to the announcement, saying the move would cut between one-quarter and one-third of production at Oshawa at the end of 2015 or early 2016. It was not clear how many jobs could be lost.

“General Motors has once again shown a complete and utter disregard for its workers and also Canadians in general, whose tax dollars kept the company out of bankruptcy,” CAW President Ken Lewenza said in a statement.

“This decision will cause yet another devastating shock to the Durham Region and the country’s auto industry.”