Even with billions invested in EVs, General Motors isn’t moving away from V8 production.
For decades, the small-block V8 engine has been a cornerstone of GM’s model lineup. And even as it continues to roll out electric options across its entire portfolio, it’s also investing into a sixth-generation small-block, as the company announced an $888 million investment this week.
Specifically, that money will go toward an existing facility that already builds V8s: the Tonawanda engine plant in Buffalo, New York. GM’s statement notes the infusion into that plant comes two-and-a-half years after it put more than half a billion dollars into the Flint Engine plant, which will also build this next-generation small-block V8. This latest move, however, is the company’s single largest investment into an engine plant in its 116-year history.
“Our significant investments in GM’s Tonawanda Propulsion plant show our commitment to strengthening and supporting manufacturing jobs in the U.S.,” said CEO Mary Barra in the automaker’s announcement Tuesday. “GM’s Buffalo plant has been in operation for 87 years and is continuing to innovate the engines we build there to make them more fuel efficient and higher performing, which will help us deliver world-class trucks and SUVs to our customers for years to come.”
As with GM’s investment toward Flint back in 2023, this sixth-generation small-block V8 engine will power the company’s future full-size trucks and SUVs, like the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra — both of which should see a generational overhaul in the next couple years. GM is currently targeting a 2027 production date for new engines out of the Tonawanda plant, for which the $888 million investment will renovate the plant, including new tools and equipment, likely to coincide with a new full-size truck or SUV launch.
Since the automaker refreshed its entire full-size SUV lineup for 2025 (including the Chevy Tahoe/Suburban, the GMC Yukon and the Cadillac Escalade), it’s likely we’ll see the new Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra siblings first, then the next-gen SUVs.
Right now, GM’s Tonawanda plant builds the current, Gen 5 “EcoTec3” engines, in both 5.3-liter and 6.2-liter variants. It also builds the smaller 4.3-liter V6 still found in the Chevy Express van.
