Oshawa GM plant to add light-duty Silverado production this spring

General Motors’ Oshawa Assembly Plant will be adding light-duty Silverado 1500s to their production arsenal this spring, the only plant in the GM family to produce both light and heavy-duty trucks at the same factory, according to media sources.

The Oshawa plant began building the heavy-duty Silverados November 9 – several months ahead of schedule, though the company did revise their production schedule earlier this year, saying truck production would begin in the fall instead of the first quarter of 2022.

The plant was expected to be closed for good when it ceased production nearly two years ago but a drawn-out campaign by Unifor, the union representing Oshawa auto workers, got the company to change their mind and agree to a $1.3 billion re-tooling and renovation, with production of the Silverado and GMC Sierra pick-ups originally slated to begin in 2022.

Revised plans now have the plant not building Sierras, however, and instead concentrating on Silverados, with production of the 1500 series being added to the HD models now being assembled.

The plant had been making face masks during the first year of the pandemic.

GM plants in Fort Wayne, Indiana and Guadalajara, Mexico build light-duty pick-ups while a factory in Flint, Michigan produces heavy-duty versions.

GM Canada has not yet confirmed the announcement. The GM Canada’s corporate headquarters in Oshawa are closed until January 4.

General Motors currently sells nearly one million full-size pick-up trucks each year, with demand outstripping supply.