General Motors’ Toledo Propulsion Systems facility In Toledo, Ohio.
Courtesy: General Motors
General Motorsis increasingproductionoftransmissions at its Toledo,Ohiofacility, shifting away from EV drive unit manufacturing toward parts for gasoline vehicles, the company confirmed Wednesday.
Thetransmissionplant supportsproductionof light-duty trucks made in Fort Wayne, Indiana, along with other facilities. Reutersfirst reportedthatGMwouldincreaseproductionat the Indiana assembly plant in early April after U.S. PresidentDonald Trumpannounced25% tariffson auto imports.
A spokesperson for the automaker said theproductionshift in Toledo is not related to tariffs.
“General Motors will reviseproductionplans at Toledo Propulsion to support additional capacity of ICE (internal combustion engine) propulsion units in alignment with current market demand and manufacturing resiliency,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
WhenGMannounceda $760 million investment to transform the Toledofacilityinto a drive unitproductionhub, it became its first U.S. powertrain factory repurposed for EVs. The automaker hasn’t yet produced retail drive units there.
“To align with current market demand and manufacturing needs, leadership has made the decision to add capacity to support propulsion units currently built at Toledo for ICE (internal combustion engines) products,” Rob Morris, the Toledo plant director, said in a memo shared with workers.
The memo said that one of the drive unitproductionlines in thefacilitywould be transformed into atransmissionline, but said there were no updates regarding the second drive unitproductionline.
GMhas made other adjustments to its EV plans including pushing back the start of EV truckproductionat its Orion Assembly plant in Michigan. It fell short on its EVproductiongoal of producing and wholesaling 200,000 EVs in North America in 2024, instead ending up at 189,000 units wholesale.
Separately, Trump’stariffshave prompted automakers to changeor expedite investment plans. Some suppliers and automakers are looking for opportunities to expand investment in the U.S. to avoid the steep levies, while others are waiting to see if the duties stick.
An analysis by the Center for Automotive Researchfound thatTrump’s 25% auto tariffs imposed in early April willincreasecosts by about $108 billion for automakers in the U.S. in 2025.
The industry is still facing levies on automotive part imports, which are scheduled to begin no later than May 3.
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