GM: Mexican made Cruze models to supplement Lordstown production
General Motors says it will be shipping Mexican made models of the new Chevy Cruze to car dealers in the United States to keep up with consumer demand for the small car.
General Motors says it will be shipping Mexican made models of the new Chevy Cruze to car dealers in the United States to keep up with consumer demand for the small car.
According to an email from Michelle M. Malcho, GM Communications, the company will use existing production capacity in Ramos Arizipe, Mexico to supplement production at its plant here in Lordstown.
GM says the Lordstown Complex is currently running three shifts to produce the 2016 Chevrolet Cruze, and using Mexican produced models will have no impact to production at Lordstown.
GM Lordstown Communications Director Thomas Mock says GM management was meeting with the UAW on Friday to inform members of the plan. UAW Local 1714 President Robert Morales who was at the meetings say they were positive.
"We are hoping that we could right this ship, get things in order and eventually be able to produce our vehicles at the rate that we should be and still produce quality vehicles for our customers," said Morales.
The company statement says Cruze vehicles continue to arrive in dealers across the U.S. and Canada, and GM says it expects that dealer inventories will increase this month.
Production of the new Cruze hit a bump in the road when production in Lordstown had to be curtailed for a couple weeks in April and May when an earthquake in Japan disrupted the parts supply chain.
However, Malcho says the earthquake has nothing to do with the decision to ship cars from Mexico. She tells 21 News that GM currently has enough Cruzes to fill thirty days of orders, and in the automotive world, Malcho says that's the equivalent of being sold out.
General Motors announced more than one year ago that it would invest $350 million at its manufacturing complex in Ramos Arzipe to make the next generation of the Chevrolet Cruze.
At the time, GM said it expected the investment to make Mexico the sixth producer of the small car, accounting for seven percent of global production.
GM Manufacturing Complex Ramos Arizpe was opened in May 1981 and last year represented 25% of the total production of GM vehicles in Mexico, with around 173,400 units manufactured in 2014.
Eighty-seven percent of the vehicles produced by GM Ramos Arizpe were exported to markets such as Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, European Community, Korea, China, US, Japan, Paraguay, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
The plant is located approximately 140 miles southwest of the border with Texas.
GM says that in May, Cruze retail share in the U.S., was up 2 percentage points and its average transaction price was up substantially from last fall.
The newest model Cruze accounted for 85 percent of Cruze retail sales in May compared to 53 percent in April.
The President of UAW Local 1112 says ramping up production at the Lordstown plant has taken some time due to the new trim shop and a special attrition program. However, he is convinced Lordstown will remain the home of the Cruze for North America and Canada.
"There is no elimination of a shift. There are no plant closings," said UAW Local 1112 president Glenn Johnson. "Our product is red hot and the new Chevy Cruze is just flying off the shelves and we need to meet our customers’ demands because that customer base is very essential to what we do as a business."
