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GM announces new electric car, 400 jobs for Orion Assembly

Tracy Samilton
/
Michigan Radio

General Motors CEO Mary Barra says the automaker will build a new electric vehicle at its Orion Assembly Plant - where it already builds the all-electric Bolt. She says details about the vehicle will come later.

Barra, who's been head of General Motors since 2014, says GM will invest $300 million in the plant and add 400 jobs.

"EVs are going to help us drive our vision of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion," says Barra. "And allow us to deliver cleaner air and a healthier planet."

Barra says GM had originally planned to build the vehicle elsewhere, but decided to build it in the U.S. in part to support provisions in the Trump administration's proposed free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada.

She says the auto industry is in the "very early stages" of electric vehicle development, but says GM will invest in much more marketing of EVs in the future to convince customers to switch.

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Tracy Samilton covers energy and transportation, including the auto industry and the business response to climate change for Michigan Public. She began her career at Michigan Public as an intern, where she was promptly “bitten by the radio bug,” and never recovered.
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