GM may reopen some factories to meet higher demand

[Justin Bimmer]

GM may reopen some factories to meet higher demand

By TOM KRISHER, AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher, Ap Auto Writer – 1 hr 5 mins ago

DETROIT – General Motors Co. may reopen some shuttered factories because it can't produce certain vehicles fast enough, its North American president said Monday.

Mark Reuss told reporters at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit that plants building the Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain and Cadillac SRX crossover vehicles and the Buick LaCrosse sedan are at capacity and can't satisfy demand.

Reuss mentioned an idled factory in Spring Hill, Tenn., but stopped short of saying any plants would be reopened.

He said if he does his job right and restores faith in the GM brands, the company could hire workers again. In the short term, he said the company will try to raise output at existing plants.

The Terrain and Equinox are made at a factory in Ingersoll, Ontario, while the LaCrosse is built in Kansas City, Kan. The SRX is made in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.

Reuss said he will meet with GM's manufacturing and sales executives next week to see if they can figure out how to squeeze more vehicles out of the existing plants for the short term.

For the long term, he said he doesn't like GM to have factories idled. The company has closed 14 factories in the past year as it struggled through bankruptcy protection, and it has placed the idled Spring Hill and Janesville, Wis., plants on standby in case they are needed.

"We've got some plants that I'd like to allocate product to," Reuss said, adding that Spring Hill was a very good factory that is versatile enough to build several models.

Reuss also said GM has finished tweaking the Chevrolet Cruze compact car and is ready to begin producing it at the factory in Lordstown, Ohio. Last month he said the production schedule had been stopped while engineers worked out transmission shifting and other driving dynamics issues with the car.

The Cruze, due out later this year, is a key product for GM as it tries to re-enter the growing small car market with a more competitive product.

[daves87rs]

I had a feeling....

[Intrepidation]

Good to hear some plants may be reopened.

[daves87rs]

Good to hear some plants may be reopened.

+1

[RjION]

Well we shall see how long it take before it happens.

[Justin Bimmer]

Well we shall see how long it take before it happens.

It all depends on how good sales are and which cars are selling. Those are going to be the determining factors on which factories, if any, are reopened.

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

GM needs plan to boost Equinox output, Reuss says

Chrissie Thompson

Automotive News -- January 11, 2010 - 10:08 am ET

DETROIT -- General Motors Co. will devise a plan this quarter to produce more Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers, Mark Reuss, president of GM North America, said today.

The CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, is already working on three shifts. But the two crossovers are in short supply -- seven days for the Equinox and 13 for the Terrain, says GM.

Today at the auto show, Reuss said he is looking at four ways to increase CAMI capacity. But long term, GM may reopen plants, he said.

“I want our assets utilized,” Reuss said. “We sit with assets that aren't utilized. That's a problem.”

He declined to say which plants GM was considering opening, but he did mention GM's plant in Spring Hill, Tenn.

“We’ve got a damn good plant in Spring Hill sitting idle,” he said.

He added that production of the Buick LaCrosse sedan and Cadillac SRX crossover also is limited by capacity problems.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100111/OEM01/100119975/1261##ixzz0cMJEVfMY