General Motors will spend $1.4B on SUV plant upgrades

General Motors plans to spend $1.4 billion to expand and improve its SUV factory in Arlington, Texas, to meet strong demand for its vehicles.

The company said the plans, announced today, represent its largest plant investment in the U.S. this year.

Detroit-based General Motors will add a new paint shop, body shop and general assembly area upgrades to the 60-year-old assembly plant.

Demand for GM's full-size SUVs has been so strong that the plant can't make them fast enough. The factory has about 3,800 hourly workers on three shifts making the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon and the Cadillac Escalade. The plant has basically been running flat-out for the past two years, and additional hiring is expected.

General Motors says the upgrades will take about three years to complete but its current production schedule will be unaffected.

Sales of the big GM SUVs are up more than 10 percent through June, according to Autodata Corp.