GM Models to Reuse Parts Due to Cost-Cutting Plans

General Motors is starting to put its cost-cutting plans into action with an announcement of additional models getting cutbacks and getting some parts eliminated.

At the recent GM Capital Markets Day event, company president Mark Reuss said the company was able to cut around 3,500 parts last year, accounting for 12% of parts used in its plants.

This year, GM wants to eliminate 255 more of the parts used in its factories.

GM plans to do this by removing trim levels, paint options, and engine and transmission options. The company also intends to share parts for some models. An example would be the next-generation Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain, which “will have more reused and shared parts,” according to Reuss.

The next-generation Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain were originally planned to have more than 200 build combinations, but will now have less than 100 due to cuts being done by the company to reduce manufacturing costs.

“We will reduce total trim levels on Equinox and Terrain from eight to six, reduce engine variants from 11 to five, reduce build combinations from more than 200 to less than 100 per program, and see significant cost savings of an already paid-for architecture that took the mass out, helping us self-fund electrification programs,” Reuss said.

The removal of some of the parts is expected to make GM’s new platforms 350 pounds lighter, while the reduced number of engine options could be referring to the company’s international variants such as unique engines typically offered in Australia and South America.

Just last month, the automaker also announced that the 5VM Visible Carbon Fiber Splitter and Side Skirts of the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray will no longer be available due to issues with supply. It also just ended the production of the Chevrolet Impala in February.