GM to Invest $378 Million in U.S. Powertrain Plants

General Motors plans to spend $332 million on four powertrain factories in the Midwest and $46 million to supplement its investment in two other Michigan powertrain facilities.

The spending will prepare those plants for the launch of a new V-6 gasoline engine, a new family of smaller 3- and 4-cylinder Ecotec engines and a new 8-speed automatic transmission. Money also will go to upgrading tooling for an existing V-6 engine and 6-speed gearbox.

The investments are part of the company's previously announced $1.5 billion capital spending program in North America this year.

The bulk of the new spending $215 million will go to a GM factory in Flint, Mich., for tooling to build the Ecotec engine and upgrade equipment for the V-6 it already makes.

The company says it will disclose later which Ecotec variants will be produced there. That family will consist of engines with displacements ranging from 1 liter to 1.5 liters.

GM will produce the new V-6 at its engine plant in Romulus, Mich. It will build the 8-speed gearbox at its factory in Toledo, Ohio. Those facilities and three component plants in Michigan and Indiana will receive a combined $163 million in related upgrades.