MT Magazine September/October 2025

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2025

FEATURE STORY

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investment will equip the plant to produce the sixth-generation version, which will be used in full-size trucks and SUVs. So, while the media seems to pay considerable attention to EVs and think of V8 engines as relics of the 1960s, the folks doing the calculations at GM don’t think that’s the case. Instead, GM is clearly leaning into what is making it the most money. Online in Just 18 Months One thing that can’t be overstated is the importance of being able to respond quickly to changing conditions. GM builds light-duty pickups at a plant in Silao, Mexico – the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the GMC Sierra 1500. According to ProMexico Industry, GM was the top vehicle producer in Mexico in 2024, producing 889,072 vehicles – trucks and the aforementioned SUVs. In addition to the plants in Silao and Ramos Arizpe, GM has another factory in San Luis Potosi. It also builds some Silverado 1500s at Oshawa Assembly in Ontario. But it also builds the two trucks in Fort Wayne, Indiana. What do Mexico and Canada have in common? When GM made the announcement, the U.S. neighbors faced 25% tariffs. Some adjustments can be calculated based on the USMCA trade agreement, but regardless, these are stiff tariffs. So, GM will shift production from Mexico and Canada to Fort Wayne and the Orion Assembly plant, which will begin building trucks in early 2027. Keep in mind that GM’s top competitor in the light-duty pickup space, Ford Motor Co., builds its F-150 in the United States at Dearborn Truck, Kansas City Assembly, and the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center. The longer it takes GM to build its trucks in U.S. facilities, the more it will cost and the more market share it will lose to Ford, as Ford won’t need to increase prices to accommodate tariffs. North Star One more thing that can be gleaned from Barra’s letter to the shareholders – this one about technology. She wrote: “Despite slower EV industry growth, we believe the long term future is profitable electric vehicle production, and this continues to be our north star. As we adjust to changing demand, we will prioritize our customers, brands, and a flexible manufacturing footprint, and leverage our domestic battery investments and other profit-improvement plans.” According to Kelley Blue Book’s figures for the first half of 2025, 607,089 electric vehicles were sold in the United States – a 1.5% year-over-year increase and not the sort of thing that the domestic auto industry expected after investing billions of dollars in EVs.

GM, which is second to Tesla in EV sales in the United States, sold just 78,163 EVs in the first half of 2025 – and that’s from Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC. To put the 78,163 figure in context: During