As part of concentrating more on developing fuel-efficient, lighter vehicles, automaker General Motors Corp (GM) has suspended its large-truck program, sources reported on late Wednesday.
Engineers working on the redesigned Chevrolet Tahoe SUV and GMC Sierra pickup for 2012 are being shifted to other projects, GM spokesman Tom Pyden told Bloomberg.
The entire auto industry is facing misery as rising cost of gasoline, now at $4 a gallon, is dragging consumers away from heavier vehicles that burn more fuel than lighter, more-compact models. This has prompted GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner to close four of the factories that build the large SUVs and pickups by 2010 and to add new car production later this year.
According to reports, the four GM plant closings will help to save $1 billion a year and slash North American truck-making capacity by 700,000 annually.
The Wall Street Journal, citing spokesman Tom Wilkinson, said late Wednesday that the company is considering how it can most effectively supply the U.S. market with fuel-efficient cars from its vast cupboard of global vehicle designs.
Meanwhile, GM will extend the life cycle of its current lineup of pickup trucks and SUVs, including the Cadillac Escalade SUV and the Chevrolet Silverado pickup. The journal stated that new designs of GM trucks and SUVs had not been expected to be released until at least 2012. In May, GM reported a 37% drop in the pickups, SUVs and vans sales in the U.S.
GM closed Wednesday's regular trading session at $14.89, down $0.93 or 5.88%, on a volume of 36.65 million shares.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.