The General Motors Gravataí plant in Brazil recently added a third production shift to expand production of the two vehicles made there.
The new shift went into effect on Monday, December 11th, 2017, adding 700 direct and 800 indirect workers for the entire complex. The decision to add the third shift was made as a result of growing demand for the Chevrolet Onix best-seller as well as its sedan variant, the Chevrolet Prisma. Both models are produced at Gravataí and exported to various parts of South America.
GM Mercosur, a recently-established unit of GM South America that includes Brazil and Argentina, recently invested 1.4 billion brazilian reais ($437 million USD) into the Gravataí complex to enable manufacturing of new vehicles in the future in addition to the ones already being built there.
The Onix is a highly popular model in Latin America. Not only is it the best-selling car in Brazil for the past 26 months, but it’s also the best-seller in the South American continent. The Prisma, meanwhile, is Brazil’s best-selling sedan.
Officially known as Gravatai Automotive Industrial Complex, or Complexo Industrial Automotivo de Gravataí (CIAG), the plant is GM’s largest plant (by volume) and most modern in South America, responsible for producing 50 percent of the volume by sales and 60 percent volume by production. It opened its doors in 2000, initially producing the Chevrolet Celta. It currently produces Onix and Prisma, both of which are derivatives of the Gamma II platform shared with the Chevy Sonic.
Comments
I wish that there were global auto standards so that an American could purchase some of the international offerings. These two cars leave me cold but an Opel Adam would be fun!
The argument will always be who’s rules do they all follow, US rules are about market protection, no one want to spend big money gaining approval for a low volume low margin car.