Good news for Holden with its parent company General Motors making a final payment of $US5.8 billion to repay in full, and ahead of schedule, loans provided by the U.S. Treasury and Export Department Canada.
At the same time, GM announced an investment of $257 million in its plants in Fairfax, Kansas and Detroit Hamtramck. The investments are to prepare those plants for the next generation Chevrolet Malibu.
One of the reasons GM was able to repay the loans ahead of schedule is a strong 36 per cent surge in sales across all four of its American brands – Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac.
The Detroit Hamtramck plant will be equipped to build the new Malibu as well as the top-selling Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS. Also on track for Hamtramck is the Chevy Volt electric car which launches later this year.
Since the launch of the revitalized GM last July, as well as repaying - in full and with interest - the loans from American taxpayers, the company has announced investments of more than $US1.5 billion at 20 facilities in North America and Canada, restoring or creating more than 7,500 jobs.
