GM to invest $918 million in new V-8 gas engines and EV components

FLINT, Mich. — General Motors plans to invest nearly $1 billion in four U.S. plants to support production of components for electric vehicles as well as its next generation of V-8 engines, signaling gas-powered trucks and performance cars are here for the foreseeable future.

The $918 million investment, which GM announced Friday, is despite the automaker’s plans to exclusively offer all-electric consumer vehicles by 2035. It’s the latest example of legacy automakers such as GM having to balance their current lineup of vehicles with emerging EVs.

A majority of the investment — $579 million — will go toward preparing GM’s Flint Engine Operations plant in Michigan for the automaker’s sixth-generation family of small-block V-8 gas engines.

The engines are used in some of the automaker’s most highly profitable products, such as its full-size pickup trucks and SUVs. They’ve also been used in some Cadillac and Chevrolet performance cars.

GM said work at the Flint facility will begin immediately, signaling the next-generation V-8 engines are on the horizon. The automaker declined to elaborate on timing, performance and other details of the engines. The last new family of V-8 engines came about in 2013.

The remaining investments will occur at other parts operations in Michigan, Ohio and New York for gas-powered parts such as camshafts and manifolds as well as castings to support future EVs, according to GM.