Earth Equity News

GM Confirms Plans to Build Subcompact Cars in US. By Tom Krisher, AP, May 29, 2009. "GM said Friday that it plans to reopen a shuttered U.S. factory to build subcompact cars that will be the smallest vehicles GM has ever produced here. The company said in a written statement that the retooled factory will be able to build 160,000 cars per year. The automaker did not say which factory would be selected or which models it will build. GM, which is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday, also plans to announce then that it will close 14 more factories, including four assembly plants... The automaker had said in documents submitted to Congress that it planned to produce up to 51,000 subcompacts per year in China and ship them to the U.S. starting in 2011, when GM plans to start selling the Chevrolet Spark here. The three-door hatchback with a 1.2-liter turbocharged engine is about the size of a Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris and is set to go on sale in Europe next year. But in an interview with AP on Thursday, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said GM will not import the cars from China and had agreed as part of a concession deal to build them in the U.S. 'Small cars represent one of the fastest-growing segments in both the U.S. and around the world,' GM CEO Fritz Henderson said in the statement.'We believe this car will be a winner with our current and future customers in the U.S.' Henderson said the UAW concessions ensure GM's manufacturing competitiveness in the U.S."