American car manufacturer General Motors Inc. released its announcement about the $117 million investment in Oshawa, Ontario assembly plant in preparation for the production of the brand new Cadillac XTS luxury model. The $117 million investment will safeguard around 400 employees at the assembly plant which had been greatly affected by layoffs in the past years, particularly in the years 2008 and 2009 where almost 1,000 workers had been laid off due to the big loss of the North American car market during which General Motors filed for protection from bankruptcy.
According to GM Canada’s President and Managing Director, Kevin Williams, the production of the Cadillac XTS luxury sedan will strengthen the brand’s commitment to a strong production base in Canada. This gives the Ontario plant a strong influence in the production of the Cadillac.
Old Cadillac models, the STS and the DTS sedans have been discounted. The new Cadillac XTS luxury sedan has been regarded with more stylish features. This new luxury model is intended for the European market and is expected to lure patrons of other Europeans competitors.
The Cadillac XTS sedan will be based on the Epsilon’s front-wheel-drive design platform and will get the same powerful 3.6-liter V6 engine that also carries at plug-in hybrid feature. This engine design has been seen first at the 2010 Detroit Auto show. Now, there’s also an optional turbocharged V-6 variant.
The production for the new Cadillac XTS sedan has been scheduled to kick by the middle of 2012 according to official word from the car company.