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General Motors is investing millions into expanding its pickup truck capacity, the second time in two months that it’s put major cash into its truck plants. It will invest US$150 million into Flint Assembly in Michigan to increase production of the all-new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickup trucks, which started shipping to dealers earlier this week. The money will be used to enhance the conveyor system and tooling. The expansion will be completed in the first half of 2020. Last month, GM announced it’s expanding production capacity of its light-duty Silverado and Sierra trucks in Fort Wayne, Indiana, “in response to strong customer demand.” The automaker has invested more than US$1.6 billion into Flint since 2013, expanding its capacity by about 40,000 vehicles annually. Opened in 1947, Flint Assembly has three production shifts. It added 1,000 new jobs this year, and employs more than 5,000 workers. GM said the Flint and Fort Wayne investments are its most recent in its growing truck, SUV, and crossover business. It previously announced investments at three plants in Ohio, two in Michigan, and in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Its Canadian assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, which makes the final versions of the last-generation pickups currently sold alongside the all-new trucks, will close later this
Origin: GM invests US$150 million to increase heavy-duty pickup production

Ford has agreed a deal with Rivian to develop a new model on the fast-rising electric vehicle (EV) maker’s platform and take a minority stake in the firm. Rivian is currently developing its R1T pick-up truck and R1S seat-seat SUV, which will both be built on a bespoke ’skateboard’ chassis that was designed to be modular, so it can be used for a wide range of machines. The new strategic partnership, in which Ford has taken around $500 million (£386 million) equity investment in Rivian, will result in engineers from the two American companies working together to develop a battery EV for Ford. There are no details yet on the type of vehicle the firms will work on, although it will be “all-new”. In the US, Ford has shifted its focus to pick-ups and SUVs, and it’s currently developing an electric version of its hugely popular F-150. Ford boss Jim Hackett said the partnership with Rivian “brings a fresh approach” to Ford’s development of EVs and that the fledgling firm “can benefit from Ford’s industrial expertise and resources”. Rivian founder RJ Scaringe called the deal a “key milestone in our drive to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility”. Rivian will remain an independent company. Ford is just the latest major investor the firm has secured; it had already raised £894.5m, including £544 million from online retailing giant Amazon, announced at the Los Angeles motor show. The deal is also the latest in a number of partnerships that Ford has secured as part of its global restructuring. It recently agreed a deal to work with Volkswagen to develop a range of vehicles, including vans and mid-size pick-ups, and has talked about building vehicles using the German conglomerate’s MEB platform for
Origin: Ford invests $500 million in EV company Rivian