GM to expand 3.6L V6 production at St. Catharines plant

General Motors announced today a $13 million investment in its St. Catharines powertrain factory to equip the plant to build more variants of the company’s 3.6L V6 engine.

The 3.6L is a key engine for GM, which uses it in a wide range of vehicles, including the Impala sedan, Equinox/Terrain compact crossovers, mid-size Traverse/Acadia/Enclave crossovers, and various Cadillac models. Eight-cylinder engine production will continue alongside the plant’s expanded 3.6L capacity.

In that sense, this investment speaks well to the future of the St. Catharines factory: GM Canada boss Stephen Carlisle calls this announcement “an example of how GM is living up to its commitments and building sold capability for the future in Canada.” What this move doesn’t do is make up for GM’s decisions to take Camaro and full-size truck production away from Canada; Camaro assembly moves to the U.S. in November, and Ontario-based Silverado/Sierra assembly disappeared with the closure of the Oshawa truck factory in May 2009.