GM Makes $24 Million Investment: Why The Automaker Is Betting On Full-Size Trucks

General Motors (GM) has announced that it is undergoing $24 million in upgrades at its Fort Wayne Assembly plant in Indiana. The enhancements will help to increase the production of its full-size trucks – the Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 models.

GM said the upgrades are especially targeted toward the production of its crew cab pickup trucks based on the increase in sales of the Silverado and Sierra. The automaker said its Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab pickup truck sales increased by 20% in the first quarter of 2019 compared to Q1 2018, since their launch in the second quarter of last year.

The company said it expects strong sales for the trucks to continue with a “significant increase” in truck purchases in the next quarter.

“We are building Chevrolet and GMC crew cab pickups at record volume and mix levels to meet customer demand and the $24 million investment will allow us to build even more,” Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO said in a statement.

“The team here at Fort Wayne has done an outstanding job helping us satisfy customers throughout this launch. Our product ramp-up was very smooth and the quality has been exceptional. Crew cab sales have been very strong, and we are expanding customer choice with new models, more cab choices and innovative new powertrains,” she added.

The $24 million investment at the Indiana plant will be used to support the increase in production at the facility through conveyor and tooling enhancements. GM said the upgrades will be completed this summer.

GM has invested more than $1.2 billion in its Fort Wayne Assembly plant since 2015, and $23 billion in U.S. manufacturing since 2009.

Shares of GM stock were down 1.29% as of 3:12 p.m. EST on Friday.