For the ‘big boys’
One investment after another for electric driving is figuratively flying around your ears, but something else is happening in the United States. That is where General Motors draws the wallet for the production of its Duramax diesel V8.
Not only here in Europe, but also in the United States, quite a few ‘sacred cows’ have already collapsed when it comes to electrification. For example, Ford has its most popular model, the F-150, now also electric in the showroom and competitors such as the Chevrolet Silverado and the Ram 1500 are getting electric brothers. That does not mean that the Americans will soon no longer be able to buy pick-ups with a large fuel engine. On the contrary: General Motors is investing no less than €843 million in the factory in Ohio where the enormous Duramax V8 is made.
That diesel power source, with a swept volume of no less than 6.6 liters, can be found in the heavy-dutyversions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. A block that can generate an asphalt-destructive 1,322 Nm of torque in the Silverado HD, which was refreshed last year. Enough to pull up to 9,000 kilograms with that Silverado HD. Swallow … In the future, GM expects that many more people will need such fuel power and that is why the plant near Dayton (Ohio) must be expanded from over 23,000 to almost 103,000 square meters, reports Autonews. Incidentally, earlier this year GM already invested quite a bit of money in the production of a petrol V8, namely the successor to the 6.2 V8 from the Chevrolet Corvette, among others.
It is not yet known when the expansion should be completed and what production numbers GM is aiming for. Nearly 1,000 people now work in the factory, and in due course they will have colleagues who still work at a nearby engine parts factory. A new plan is in the works for that facility.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl