GM Plans to Invest $1 Billion at its Missouri Plant, Says State Officials

General Motors (GM) is mulling a $1 billion investment at its Missouri assembly plant where it produces vans and trucks, state officials recently said.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson said that representatives from the auto manufacturer discussed its plans on investment on its plant and how it will add jobs.

GM is seeking various state incentives that would require approval from the state legislature before starting the project to expand its Wentzville plant, where the Chevrolet Colorado, Chevrolet Express Cargo Van, GMC Canyon pickup trucks, and GMC Savana full-size van are built, Parson said.

In a Twitter post, State Senator Bob Onder hailed the plan, saying that he is excited that GM aims to invest $1 billion in the Wentzville Community!

Onder added that this move would continue a decades-long relationship between the giant automaker and the people of St. Charles County, he said.

Despite refusing to confirm the investment, GM said in a statement that it appreciated Missouri’s state officials’ willingness to work with them on the potential business opportunities within the state.

Some analysts speculate that GM may build a new mid-size SUV based on the Canyon and Colorado chassis. In 2016, Automotive News reported that industry officials believed the auto giant was thinking of a strategy to compete with the Jeep brand of Fiat Chrysler.

Earlier Washington criticized GM after it announced plans to halt production at its five North American factories and lay off to 14,000 jobs. Since then, the auto giant has announced several new U.S. investments.

The investments include $1.7 billion in its U.S. plants that target adding 700 new jobs, including pouring on $300 million at its Orion plant in suburban Detroit. Recently, the company announced it would add a second shift at its Bowling Green, Kentucky factory where it builds the Chevrolet Corvette, adding around 400 jobs.