GM Builds 4 Millionth Vehicle At Its Brazil Gravataí Plant
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General Motors has just exceeded four million vehicles manufactured at its Gravataí plant, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in the southern tip of Brazil. Since its inauguration on July 20, 2000, the Gravataí factory has manufactured large-volume vehicles and is currently GM’s most productive installation worldwide.
Aerial view of GM Gravataí plant in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
It is worth noting that the Gravataí plant is the birthplace of the Chevrolet Onix, the best-selling vehicle in Brazil and Latin America for the past four years. From 2012 to 2019, it was the only factory producing the Onix, whose second generation is now also manufactured in China and Mexico. At the moment, this GM plant is dedicated to the production of the successful Chevy subcompact and is the only one that manufactures the hatchback variant.
“Our factory in Gravataí is the most productive in the world. It produces the best-selling car in South America, the Onix, which has been an absolute leader in the Brazilian market for over four years. It is an honor for me to be here with the team to celebrate the four-millionth car produced,” commented Vice-President of Government Relations and Communication at GM South America, Marina Willisch, in a press release.
This orange 2020 Chevrolet Onix Premier is the 4,000,000th unit manufactured at the Gravataí plant
The 4,000,000th unit manufactured at the Gravataí plant, which left the production line on the morning of Thursday, February 27, is a 2020 Chevrolet Onix Premier in Tiger Orange color – an exclusive tone for the 5-door hatchback. The sedan variant, called Onix Plus, is also manufactured at the plant, mainly to supply South American markets.
Last November, GM inaugurated the factory’s new assembly line in Rio Grande do Sul, which produces the new generation of the Onix family. The investment, which amounted to R$1.4 billion ($313 million USD), is part of the ambitious R$23 billion (about $5.1 billion USD) budget that the company is spending in Brazil between 2014 and 2024 to update its portfolio and install new manufacturing technologies.
Among the improvements made in the factory is the expansion of the production line, a new polymer injection building, as well as multiple state-of-the-art computer systems that reinforced its position as the most modern plant in the region. Thanks to these extensive renovations, the Gravataí plant operates today with three production shifts and manufactures more than 60 units per hour.
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The Onix is a great small car, and it should be imported to the U.S. as a replacement for the Sonic, and to compete against the Asian small cars.