GM Wentzville to See Bulk of Midsize-Pickup Investment

General Motors will invest $1.5 billion to bring its next generation of midsize pickup trucks to market, including $1 billion earmarked for the automaker’s truck plant in Wentzville, MO. 

The Wentzville plant’s paint shop, body shop and general assembly areas will receive upgrades, including new machines, conveyors, controls and tooling, GM says in a news release. The investment is expected to retain about 4,000 hourly jobs at the plant 41 miles (66 km) west of St. Louis. 

GM is not releasing specific information about its next generation of midsize trucks, but the automaker says product features including new diesel and gasoline engines and new transmissions, as well as special-edition models. 

Wentzville is the only plant that builds the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups and is one of two plants that produce Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana fullsize vans. 

The 36-year-old plant produced 94,900 Colorado pickups through October, down 23.9% from a year earlier, and 26,729 Canyons, down 19.4%, according to Wards Intelligence data. Production of the two pickups peaked in 2017, when 149,727 Colorados and 46,153 Canyons were built.