In an official ceremony at its Colmotores, Colombia plant, General Motors (GM) announced a US $50 million investment to modernize the facility’s light-vehicle production line to manufacture the Chevy Joy subcompact.

Colombia’s president, Iván Duque, attended the ceremony at the GM production complex in the city of Bogotá.

The facility’s upgrading will include 24 new robots and vehicle body molds to stamp the parts locally, growing the plant’s workforce by 30%. Manufacture of two body versions of the Joy are expected to start in early 2023.

GM South America anticipates producing 35,000 units of the Chevy Joy in Colombia during the first year – 30% will be destined for the Colombian market, the remaining 70% destined for export.

The investment will revive GM’s light-vehicle production in Colombia, suspended when the carmaker ended local assembly of the Chevy Spark GT last year. Since then, the plant has only assembled the N-Series line of trucks and buses of Isuzu origin.

“This project demonstrates GM’s commitment to Colombia for 66 years,” said Santiago Chamorro, president and CEO of GM South America. “With this project, we hope to continue contributing to the rejuvenation of the country, to the new generation of qualified and well-paid employment.”