WENTZVILLE — The trucks produced by GM’s auto plant here will “remain significant†even as the company moves toward its pledge to sell only electric passenger vehicles by 2035, a GM company official told a gathering of business leaders Wednesday. But he didn’t say if the plant would one day shift to electric vehicles, too.
The plant’s rise in the electric economy would be a boon to the ºüÀêÊÓƵ region, and its loss, a blow. Local civic leaders are betting on advanced manufacturing as a driver of growth for the area, identifying it as a top priority in regional workforce plans, with ambitions for an innovation center for the industry in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
The trucks made at GM’s Wentzville plant, which opened in 1983 and now employs more than 4,000 people, just wrapped up a $1.5 billion upgrade to ready the factory to make the latest models of the company’s midsize trucks. The investment was included in the labor contract the company reached with the United Auto Workers after GM workers nationwide went on strike in 2019.
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But, nationally, General Motors is in the midst of a series of investments in electric vehicle and battery production sites around the country. The company stated a goal of selling only electric passenger vehicles by 2035.
That announcement had raised questions about the role of the Wentzville assembly plant, where workers make vans and midsize trucks. On Wednesday, Lamar Rucker, plant executive director of the Wentzville facility, said the models made in Wentzville will remain significant well into the 2030s.
“Realistically, not everybody’s ready to transition over to EVs,†Rucker said.
Typically the cycle for a new vehicle launch that would require a plant retrofit is around 7 to 10 years, Rucker said, with a midcycle enhancement somewhere in between.
Greater ºüÀêÊÓƵ Inc. identified advanced manufacturing as a priority in the 2030 Jobs Plan, and local officials envision an advanced manufacturing innovation center in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ, where companies could collaborate with on technology, production processes and worker training.
That push won’t be without its challenges. Manufacturers have been struggling with labor shortages and an aging workforce. At the panel Wednesday, Greater ºüÀêÊÓƵ CEO Jason Hall said the region needs to demonstrate to young people that there are good job opportunities available to them in advanced manufacturing, without a four-year degree.
“If we don’t do that, it’s going to be hard to continue to sustain these manufacturing wins,†Hall said. “Which, in my view, are critical.â€
Still, local companies and schools have been expanding workforce development programs that aim to funnel workers into companies like GM and Boeing. They’re trying to overcome old perceptions about , and reaching out to students as young as elementary school.
In October, officials announced that the Israel-based ICL Group will build a $400 million plant to support EV battery production in the Carondelet neighborhood of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, bolstered by a $197 million federal grant.
Electronic vehicle sales are expected to grow dramatically in the U.S. and abroad over the next decade.
The profits from GM’s internal combustion engine vehicles are expected to help support development of EVs and batteries. Workers at the Wentzville plant now make two new models of midsize trucks: The 2023 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. The body shops and paint shop were updated, and new tooling was added in the general assembly areas.
Still, Rucker hinted there is hope for Wentzville’s long-term future: He said he imagines sites that only make internal combustion engine cars now will eventually go through a “transitional period†into the EV market.
One GM plant in Michigan, between the cities of Detroit and Hamtramck, was built in 1985 and has been transformed into a dedicated EV assembly plant.
Asked whether the Wentzville plant could be , Rucker responded that the company is “always studying things.â€
“But don’t lose sight of the fact that we are a big contributor to GM right now,†Rucker said.