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GM Canada Announces Autonomous Car R&D Expansion

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GM Canada to add 700 jobs in Ontario

General Motors on Friday announced plans to expand research and development of self-driving cars in Canada. The expansion, which was announced in Oshawa, Ontario, will see the growth of engineers in the country from 300 to 1,000 over the next few years.

Among those in attendance for the announcement were Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“The investments announced today will create good paying jobs, grow Canada’s middle class, and ensure a brighter future for all Canadians. Meeting with CEO Mary Barra at the World Economic Forum, I made the case for investing in Canada. I applaud GM for choosing Canada to be the home base for its global center for advanced vehicle software development.”

GM Canada’s investment will focus in on the work involved with Autonomous Vehicle Software & Controls Development, Active Safety and Vehicle Dynamics Technology, Infotainment, and Connected Vehicle Technology. Because this would put the Oshawa Tech Center beyond maximum operational capacity, General Motors will open a new Automotive Software Development Center in Markham, Ontario.

“We selected Canada for this expansion because of its clear capacity for innovation, proven talent and strong ecosystem of great universities, startups and innovative suppliers,” said GM Executive Vice President, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, Mark Reuss. “With this expansion, GM Canada will play an important role in our evolution toward vehicles that are connected, autonomous, shared and electric.”

GM also announced that it will be investing an additional $10 million in the Kapuskasing Cold Weather testing facility, where new vehicles undergo climate- and environment-specific tests.