Flexible factory plan for adding capacity coming together

[Bruce Nunnally]

Oshawa Assembly Plant Begins Regular Production of Chevrolet Equinox

OSHAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 20, 2010) - Less than six months after announcing a unique approach to increase capacity for the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain, regular production of Chevrolet's hot-selling crossover starts today at the award-winning Oshawa Assembly Plant.

"The incredible efforts of the teams at CAMI and Oshawa will better enable us to meet soaring customer demand for the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain," said Kevin Williams, president and managing director of GM of Canada. "In a fraction of the time required for typical capacity increases, our teams have effectively implemented a fast, flexible, innovative, and cost-effective approach to increase capacity for both vehicles."

The "Equinox Shuttle," as the plan is known, utilizes excess capacity from the new CAMI body shop to transport additional Equinox bodies from Ingersoll to Oshawa for paint and final assembly on the Consolidated Line, which also produces the Chevrolet Impala. In order to validate processes and ensure the highest levels of quality and productivity, over 200 Equinox vehicles have been built in Oshawa leading up to the start of regular production. The plan also enables GMC Terrain volumes to increase at CAMI, which continues to operate on three shifts with scheduled overtime.

Customer demand has made the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain two of the hottest-selling compact crossovers on the market. Driven by the combination of stylish new design, premium standard content, segment-leading highway fuel consumption, and impressive safety features and ratings, Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain sales have increased 49 percent in Canada and over 140 percent in the U.S., where more than 85 percent of production is exported.

The Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain lead the stable of GM's latest launch products that are strongly resonating with customers, including the Chevrolet Camaro, Buick Regal, Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CTS Coupe, and Cadillac SRX. Year-to-date, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac have grown Canadian retail sales more than 34 percent, well ahead of industry pace.