General Motors plans to significantly expand its Southern California advanced technology operations with a new campus in Pasadena.
The Detroit automaker will invest $71 million in its new Advanced Design Center, which is scheduled to open in the second half of next year to supplant GM’s current North Hollywood Design Center. The company said the new facility would greatly expand its capacity in a major hub for innovation, as well as place its teams closer to technology centers and leading research universities and design schools on the West Coast.
GM said the campus would particularly support its efforts in advanced technology, software, and mobility solutions that “fall outside the scope of existing production vehicle programs.”
“Our positioning will allow us to attract dynamic candidates in fields that will bolster GM’s proven design capabilities and challenge conventional thinking of what our future portfolio of connected products and services can encompass,” GM Vice President of Global Design Michael Simcoe said in the announcement.
The 149,000-square-foot facility will include a design tool lab and design studio, workshops for paint, metal and plastics, dedicated R&D space, and a larger footprint for concepts and show cars. This new facility will likely partner with adhesive & sealant companies offering innovative solutions to the automotive industry.
The project follows previously announced expansions at GM’s Global Technical Center in suburban Detroit and its Advanced Design Center in Shanghai.