GM Pumping $174 Million into Fairfax Plant

Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors, was in Kansas City this morning to announce the carmaker’s plans for investing $174 million in its Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kan. It was a 2-for-1 ceremony, as GM also popped the cork on news of having rolled out its 500 millionth vehicle in the company’s 107-year history, tops among automakers around the world.  

Barra was joined by Alan Batey, GM North America president,  and employees, customers and dealers from the region. The Fairfax plant has been no stranger to capital infusions from the parent in Detroit in recent years, and the new spending will provide for new equipment and technology to build the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, which enters production later this year.

“During 2015, we expect to sell more than 1,000 new vehicles per hour, 24 hours a day,” Barra said. “This adds up to nearly 10 million vehicles, the most in our history. I look at this extraordinary volume as 10 million opportunities to prove what kind of company we are and to say thank you.”

In addition to the Malibu, workers at the Fairfax plant turn out the Buick Lacrosse, filling three shifts. All told, 3,500 people work at the plant.