GM Adds Third Shift to Plant Producing Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon

It remains to be seen if pickup buyers want a midsize truck again, but dealers are stocking up on the 2015 Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon – and GM is adding to the production line.

GM announced Tuesday it’s added a third shift to the Wentzville, Missouri plant that has started producing the new Colorado and Canyon. That means an addition of approximately 750 jobs at the factory that already employs 2,600 people making the pickups and the Chevy Express and GMC Savanna full-size vans, according to the company.

GM had previously invested a reported $513 million to revamp the facility and add employees in order to accommodate the new pickup line. But buoyed by 30,000 dealer orders for the Colorado and Canyon before they’ve officially gone on sale, GM is clearly expecting more demand for the vehicles than they previously anticipated.

The Colorado and Canyon go on sale this fall, starting at about $21,000 for the Chevy, rising up past $36,000 for a four-wheel drive V6 model. GM hasn’t been a major player in the segment for many years, with it currently populated by pretty much only the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier.

Let’s see if the General can actually bring buyers back to small(er) trucks.

By Zac Estrada