GM Truck Factory Dials Up Assembly By 20 Percent

With auto tariffs put in place by President Trump, some automakers have pouted and others have complained, but others like GM are pumping up production inside US borders. In response to the situation, GM CEO Mary Barra told Phil LeBeau of CNBC Fort Wayne Assembly in Indiana will dial up production by 20 percent.

Ford says it won’t pump up vehicle prices thanks to tariffs.

Even more specifically, Barra said 50,000 additional trucks will be rolling off the production line in Fort Wayne. That means the Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups, with total production possibly surpassing 300,000 units annually.

Considering how important those two product lines are to GM’s profits, the move only makes sense. Instead of trying to produce them in Mexico or Canada, then pay a tariff on the pickups, GM is just going to shift the necessary assembly volume to Indiana to keep operating costs lower.

Surprisingly, Barra seemed to agree with Trump’s objectives with the tariffs. “I think it’s important from an economic security perspective as well as a national security perspective and to give us a level playing field,” she said during the interview, adding that GM hasn’t enjoyed a level playing field against foreign automakers for “decades.” She’s not wrong.

Smartly, Barra didn’t let LeBeau nail her down on specifics about GM’s plan of dealing with the tariffs. After all, there’s a lot that isn’t known and much could change, as Trump has signaled he’s negotiable and doesn’t want to scorch automakers.

But Trump has also made it clear his intention is to incentivize automakers to not only assemble vehicles sold in the US inside this country, but to do so using parts and materials also sourced from the US.

What’s more, Barra claims GM uses few parts from China in cars made here in the US, saying it’s just 3 percent of all components. If that’s in fact true, along with her claims that 80 percent of parts used in US-assembled vehicles are already USMCA compliant, GM is sitting pretty in a situation that has other automakers frustrated.

Just keep in mind GM isn’t exporting vehicles to China. Don’t laugh, because Chinese consumers apparently still have an appetite for some full-size trucks and SUVs, including Cadillac Escalades, but with the Chinese government hitting the US with incredibly steep tariffs, the flow has been cut off, for now.

Image via Chevrolet