General Motors Halts Production at Mexico Plant for Several Weeks

General Motors Company GM is temporarily halting production at its pickup truck plant in Silao, Mexico, for several weeks, which will affect the output of its highest-selling models, per Reuters. While GM acknowledged the production pause, it did not specify the break time. 

Per sources, the Silao facility, which manufactures the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, was offline for the first two weeks of July and will shut down again during the weeks of Aug. 4 and Aug. 11.

Per General Motors, the planned downtime at Silao is part of its standard operations, aimed at optimizing manufacturing efficiency. The Silverado and its close counterpart, the Sierra, are GM’s best-selling vehicles in the United States and serve as major profit contributors. These models are also produced at other locations, including Fort Wayne, IN; Flint, MI and Ontario, Canada.

Automakers often suspend production to conduct maintenance or reconfigure assembly lines for new models. Most of GM’s U.S. factories paused operations during the July 4 holiday week. However, extended shutdowns at plants making such critical products are rare, especially for pickup trucks, which are highly profitable and typically produced around the clock by GM, Ford and Stellantis. In the first half of 2025, GM sold 278,599 Silverado trucks, up 2% year over year and 166,409 Sierra trucks, up 12% from the same period in 2024.

Trade tensions, particularly under U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, have disrupted automotive supply chains in recent months. In response to tariff-related challenges, some manufacturers have restructured production. China’s countermeasures, such as restrictions on exporting rare earth materials essential to vehicle components, have further complicated operations.

Although a U.S.-China agreement was reached in London on June 11, allowing exports to resume, the incident highlights the U.S. auto industry’s heavy dependence on Chinese-sourced rare earths.

General Motors’ Zacks Rank & Key Picks

GM carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.

Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Geely Automobile Holdings Limited GELYY, Aisin Corporation ASEKY and Westport Fuel Systems Inc. WPRT. While STRT and ASEKY sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each at present, WPRT carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GELYY’s fiscal 2025 sales implies year-over-year growth of 76.25%. EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 and 2026 have improved 27 cents and 47 cents, respectively, in the past seven days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASEKY’s fiscal 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 7.32% and 58.89%, respectively. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WPRT’s 2025 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 40.93%. EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have improved 44 cents and 23 cents, respectively, in the past 60 days.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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