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General Motors said today it is making a $350 million investment to prepare its Lordstown, Ohio, plant to build the Chevrolet Cruze by April 2010.

GM said it will spend a total of $500 million on its Cruze product program in the United States.

The bulk of the $350 million going into the Lordstown plant will go to consolidating the plant's two body shops into one, plant manager John Donahoe told Automotive News.

The rest of the investment will go into the plant's general assembly area, which will have added space when the body shops are consolidated. Donahoe said GM is determining what content it will put in that area to further improve efficiency.

He said all the changes to the plant will be made "on the fly."

"We will have the Cobalt coming off the end of the assembly line, and three spaces later will be the Cruze," he said.

The plant is expecting to build 330,000 cars this year. Donahoe said the plant will have a similar capacity after the renovation is completed.

The Cruze is scheduled to sell in the U.S. in 2011 after launching in 2009 in Europe and Asia.

The Lordstown plant is building the Cruze in place of the Chevy Cobalt, which will be discontinued. The plant's 4,600 hourly workers also make the Pontiac G5 coupe.

"The Cruze will build on the already successful Chevy Cobalt," Ed Peper, GM North America vice president of Chevrolet said in a statement. "Our dealers are asking for many more Cobalts than we can build."

Through July, Cobalt sales are up 16.4 percent from last year, to 130,660 units.

The 2008 Cobalt gets up to 24 mpg in city driving and 33 mpg on the highway. Peper said the Cruze is a replacement with fuel efficiency that consumers now demand.

"Our goal for the Chevrolet Cruze is to lead in fuel economy in this very competitive car segment," CEO Rick Wagoner said in a statement.

Earlier Thursday, GM offered an early look at the Cruze, which is scheduled to make its official debut in October at the Paris auto show. The car has a two-tier grille and wraparound headlights that look similar to Chevrolet's Malibu sedan.

"Our goal in designing Cruze was to be bold, not evolutionary," chief designer Taewan Kim said in a statement.

The Cruze is scheduled to go on sale in March 2009 in Europe, where it will be available with 1.6 liter and 1.8-liter engines and a 2.0-liter turbodiesel.

The state of Ohio is giving GM more than $71 million to build the Cruze in Lordstown, Donahoe said. That will go toward new machinery and equipment and training workers.

GM made a similar investment in Lordstown in 2002 when it committed to renovating its assembly plant there for making Cobalts.

PRESS RELEASE: GM Announces $500 Million Investment for New Small Car

New Chevrolet Cruze to be built in Lordstown, Ohio

All-new Chevrolet Cruze Features Dramatic Design (Press Release)

Lordstown, OHIO – General Motors Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner today announced that the company will invest more than $500 million in the U.S. to build the Chevrolet Cruze, an all-new global compact car. The vehicle will be built at its Lordstown, Ohio plant. The Chevy Cruze will be officially unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in a few short weeks. In a surprise move, the investment announcement was accompanied by a glimpse of the Cruze life-size show property.

The investment in Lordstown is one of several that have been announced at U.S. plants in the past five years, adding up to over $2 billion total investment in Ohio and more than $20 billion in the United States. "One of the key reasons for the success of the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 is the Lordstown workforce and the strong partnerships with the UAW and local and state officials," Wagoner said. "Based on the quality of work and these strong partnerships, we are pleased to announce our plans to invest another $500 million in the Chevy Cruze product program in the U.S., including more than $350 million in Lordstown."

Ed Peper, GMNA vice president of Chevrolet, spoke to GM's strong position in delivering fuel-efficient vehicles that consumers want to buy. "The Cruze will build on the already successful Chevrolet Cobalt, Cobalt XFE and Cobalt SS, all of which are nearly sold out in dealer showrooms," Peper said. "Our dealers are asking for many more Cobalts than we can build."

Chevrolet Cobalt sales are up 16 percent, year-to-date through July 2008, with an impressive 33 miles-per-gallonhighway. The new Cobalt XFE model jumps to 37 miles-per-gallon and is selling almost as soon as it's unloaded from the delivery trucks to dealerships.

The Chevrolet Cruze epitomizes the global nature of the automobile industry and General Motors' commitment to deliver fuel efficient, high-quality products. Cruze is the result of a development process harnessing GM's global design and engineering expertise. It is the first of a new family of compact Chevrolets that will continue the attention to quality, fuel efficiency, and strong value promise of the highly successful Malibu and all other vehicles under the Chevrolet brand.

"The Chevrolet Cruze was designed and engineered by our global teams in Europe and Asia Pacific and will be manufactured in those regions in addition to the assembly plant here in Lordstown, Ohio," Wagoner said. "Our goal for the Chevrolet Cruze is to lead in fuel economy in this very competitive car segment."

The new Cruze will be launched in Europe and Asia Pacific next year. It's scheduled to make its European debut at the Paris Motor Show in October.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.