GM expanding production at Canadian plant

ROBERT SNELL
The Detroit News

General Motors Co.’s joint venture in Canada is investing $85 million to upgrade a plant that produces the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain.

The project involves re-tooling CAMI Automotive’s West Body Shop and other renovations that will boost production by about 40,000 vehicles for the U.S. and Canadian markets and require the recall of about 150 employees.

The move comes a month after CAMI, located in Ingersoll, Ontario, reinstated a third shift and brought back more than 300 laid off workers.

"This investment is an excellent example of what happens when you get the product right," said Arturo Elias, president of GM Canada. "If the product is right, everything else follows — increased production, increased employment and strong market demand."

CAMI is a joint venture between GM and Suzuki Motor Corp.

Sales of the redesigned Equinox are up 8 percent this year and jumped 167 percent last month compared to a year earlier. GM has sold 63,850 units this year.