General Motors Canada is spending $691 million at a facility in St. Catharines, Ont. to produce the next generation of V8 engines there.

The company said the St. Catharines propulsion plant will build the sixth-generation GM V8 engines, which will power the company’s full-size trucks and SUVs.

It’s one of three facilities that will build these V8s, the others include the Tonawanda propulsion plant in Buffalo, N.Y., and the Flint engine operations in Flint, Mich.

“Today’s announcement confirms St. Catharines will play a key role in one of our core vehicle programs for years to come, and it reflects General Motors’ confidence in the St. Catharines team and their proud 74-year legacy of powering our most popular vehicles,” said Jack Uppal, president and managing director, GM Canada, in an April 29 news release.

The latest news comes after GM Canada announced a major investment at its Oshawa assembly plant to support the production of next-gen pickup trucks.

What’s happening at St. Catharines facility now?

The St. Catharines facility will continue to produce the current fifth-gen V8s while the facility is prepared for the start of production of the new engines.

Equipment for the project has already started arriving to the site, GM Canada said.

GM said the new engines will deliver stronger performance thanks to new combustion and thermal management innovations.

GM said it has invested $828 million in the St. Catharines facility since 2020.

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