General Motors Arlington Assembly turns 70 this year. If achieving septuagenarian status wasn’t enough reason to throw a birthday party, as extra icing on the cake, the manufacturing plant built its 13 millionth vehicle this week. Hats off to the 5,410 employees who currently work at the North Texas facility. This new milestone was reached five years after building vehicle number 12 million.
Previously the birthplace of iconic names such as Chevelle, Cutlass, El Camino, GTO, Impala, and Roadmaster, the Arlington plant now builds SUVs. As the popularity of trucks and SUVs grew, a production change to body-on-frame SUVs occurred in 1997, and a stamping facility was added in 2012. The plant is now home to every new gas-powered full-size SUV in the GM portfolio that is sold globally. This includes the Cadillac Escalade and Escalade-V, the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, and the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL.
And the 13 millionth Arlington-built GM is a doozy but not a surprise. According to the City of Arlington, the milestone maker is a 2024 Cadillac Escalade-V that retails for…*checks current pricing* $154,290 before options, taxes, fees, and party expenses. There was no additional info provided regarding its final spec and packaging. The Escalade has been the best-selling luxury full-size SUV in North America since 2014 and gets a much-needed update for 2025.
The Escalade-V commands a six-figure MSRP over the standard Escalade, which starts at $83,890, because its 6.2-liter V8 is of the supercharged variety. While the base engine provides an ample 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque, the V-Series variant produces 682 hp and 653 lb-ft of torque. That’s good for a claimed 4.4-second zero-to-60 mph time. Just ignore its 13 combined mpg. Does any Escalade-V owner even look at fuel economy?
The Arlington plant is no doubt a busy one. Operational 24 hours a day for six days a week, the assembly team works in three shifts to build more than 1,350 vehicles daily. In addition to domestic deliveries, the vehicles are exported to more than 30 countries. Such is the demand for supersized SUVs.
Arlington Assembly sits on 250 acres and boasts six million total square feet, making it one of GM’s largest assembly plants. In 2023, the plant set a monthly production record of more than 34,000 vehicle builds. Any guesses on when the 14 millionth vehicle will be built, and what model it might be?