General Motors announced earlier this week that it has cancelled all construction contracts for a new engine plant in Flint, Michigan – set to produce a new family of fuel-efficient four-cylinder engines for the Chevrolet Volt and Cruze – which raised several questions surrounding GM’s future vehicle lineup. However, a new report indicates the all-important Volt is still on track for a 2010 launch, thanks to a shift in logistics.
The Chevrolet Volt was slated to source its gas engine from the Flint plant, but the last minute plant cancellation means GM won’t have enough time to get another engine plant up and running by 2010. Rather than delaying the Volt – arguably the most import vehicle of GM’s 100-year history – GM will source the car’s 1.4L powerplant from overseas.
The Volt will share its 1.4L powerplant with the Chevrolet Cruze , which is actually already in production in South Korea. As such, GM has decided to source the Volt’s engine from Asia, thereby sidestepping any production delays, according to Reuters.
However, in a bid to make both vehicles more profitable, engine production will eventually be brought back to Flint, although no time frame has been given. “The Volt kickoff will be an engine from across the ocean and as soon as possible the engine will be built in Flint,” Flint’s UAW president told Reuters.
