Wilmington Assembly was a

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

factory in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

. The factory opened in 1947, and produced cars for GM's

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...

, Buick and

Daewoo Daewoo ( ; Hangul: , Hanja: , ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "dae" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomerat ...

brands during its operation. GM closed the plant on July 28, 2009.

History

The plant was located at 801 Boxwood Road. It was under the management of GM's newly created Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac Assembly Division created in 1945, manufacturing cars for

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...

, and

. Some of the cars produced at the facility starting in the 1970s included (model years in parentheses): *

Chevrolet Chevette The Chevrolet Chevette is a front-engine, rear-drive subcompact manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet for model years 1976–1987 as a three-door or five-door hatchback. Introduced in September 1975, the Chevette superseded the Vega as Chev ...

(1978-1985) * Pontiac T1000/1000 (1981-1985) * Pontiac Tempest (1987–1991) *

Chevrolet Corsica The Chevrolet Corsica (named after Corsica, France) is a front-wheel drive compact car that was produced by Chevrolet from 1987 until 1996. The Corsica was built upon the L-body platform. It shared the L-body with the 2-door Beretta, and the reb ...

(1987–1996) *

Chevrolet Beretta The Chevrolet Beretta is a front-wheel-drive two-door coupé produced by Chevrolet from 1987 until 1996. The Beretta was designed in the same design studio as the Camaro and the Corvette, Chevrolet Exterior Studio 3, and was built at the Wilmi ...

(1987–1996) *

Chevrolet Malibu The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet from 1964 to 1983 and again since 1997. The Malibu began as a trim-level of the Chevrolet Chevelle, becoming its own model line in 1978. Originally a rear-wheel-drive ...

(1997–1999) *

Saturn L-Series The Saturn L series is a line of automobiles, sedans and station wagons that were made by Saturn Corporation in Wilmington, Delaware. Poor sales of the L-series cars caused GM to cancel the line for 2005. The first L-series car was built in May ...

(2000–2005) *

Pontiac Solstice The Pontiac Solstice is a sports car that was produced by Pontiac. Introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show, the Solstice roadster began production in Wilmington, Delaware, starting in mid-2005 for the 2006 model year. It ...

(2006–2009) *

Saturn Sky The Saturn Sky is a roadster that was produced by Saturn, and was initially released in the first quarter of 2006 as a 2007 model. It uses the ''Kappa'' automobile platform shared with the Pontiac Solstice. The Sky concept was shown at the 2005 ...

(2007–2009) *

Opel GT The Opel GT is a front-engine, rear-drive two-seat sports car manufactured and marketed by Opel in two generations — separated by a 34-year hiatus. The first generation Opel GT (1968 –1973) debuted as a styling exercise in 1965 at the Pa ...

(2007–2009) *

Daewoo G2X Daewoo ( ; Hangul: , Hanja: , ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "dae" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomerat ...

(2007–2009) As part of the 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring of General Motors, Wilmington Assembly ceased automotive production on Tuesday, July 28, 2009. Its final product was a

convertible. The closure of the Wilmington plant, for the time being, marks the end of large-scale automotive production in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

Post-closure

Fisker Automotive Fisker Automotive was an American company known for producing the Fisker Karma, which was one of the world's first production luxury plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. It debuted at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, and first de ...

had chosen the plant to launch its Project Nina, a plan to build plug-in hybrid sedans that cost less than $40,000 with a federal tax credit, according to the automaker. Then Vice President and former Delaware senator Joe Biden joined Fisker executives for the announcement at the plant. Fisker said it would begin production on its vehicles by late 2012; Project Nina would eventually create or support 2,000 factory jobs as well as 3,000 vendor and supplier jobs. By 2014, it expected production to enter full swing, turning out 75,000–100,000 vehicles per year. It expected to export more than half of these vehicles, which would have been the largest export percentage of any domestic automaker. The automaker would have spent $175 million to retool the GM plant with the funding coming from the $528.7 million

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rel ...

loan awarded to Fisker in September. Production was delayed to enter approximately 2014-2015 due to bankruptcy and financial constraints.

Wanxiang Wanxiang Group Corporation () is a Chinese multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China. Its automotive components subsidiary (Wangxiang Qiaochao) is the largest China-based automotive components company meas ...

acquired the plant in February 2014 after it purchased Fisker's assets in a bankruptcy auction. In October 2016, the plant was put up for sale. The site was purchased by Harvey, Hanna & Associates in 2017 and was completely demolished by end of 2019. On May 19, 2020,

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

announced it would build a fulfillment center on the site of the former Wilmington Assembly plant. The fulfillment center, which is Amazon's third in the state, opened in 2021.

Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac Assembly Division (1945-1965)

Plants operating under Chevrolet Assembly management prior to General Motors Assembly Division management (most established pre-1945) were located at St. Louis, Missouri; Janesville, Wisconsin; Buffalo, New York; Norwood, Ohio; Flint (#2), Michigan; Oakland, California; Tarrytown, New York; Lakewood, Georgia; Leeds, Missouri; Baltimore, Maryland; Los Angeles (Van Nuys), California; Ypsilanti (Willow Run), Michigan; and Lordstown, Ohio. Framingham, Massachusetts is unusual in that it changed from B-O-P to Chevy management prior to becoming GMAD. The terminology is confusing because most plants assembled more than just Chevrolet or B-O-P, and refers to the management structure only. The five brands originated vehicles from their respective "home" plants, where vehicles were assembled locally for their respective regions. Vehicles were also produced in "knock-down" kits and sent to the branch assembly locations. The "home" branches were Flint, Michigan for both Buick and Chevrolet; Oldsmobile at Lansing, Michigan; Pontiac at Pontiac, Michigan; and Cadillac at Detroit, Michigan. * Arlington Assembly, Arlington, Texas *

Pontiac Assembly Pontiac Assembly was one of four General Motors assembly plants in Pontiac, Michigan located along Baldwin Avenue. It served as the home factory for GM's Pontiac Motor Division since it was built in 1927. It was across the street from the curr ...

, Pontiac, Michigan *

Doraville Assembly Doraville Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Doraville, Georgia, just northeast of Atlanta. The plant opened in 1947 and was under the management of GM's newly created Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac Assembly Division created in 1945. ...

, Atlanta, Georgia *

Fairfax Assembly The Fairfax Assembly & Stamping is a General Motors automobile factory at 3201 Fairfax Trafficway, Kansas City, Kansas in the United States. As of 2022, the plant employs over 2,100 hourly and salaried employees. Employees are represented by UA ...

, Kansas City, Kansas *

Framingham Assembly Framingham Assembly was a General Motors factory in Framingham, Massachusetts which opened in 1947. History and models The plant was built on the location of Framingham Airport, and ground was broken in 1945. The plant cost $12 million ($ in ...

, Framingham, Massachusetts *

Fremont Assembly Fremont Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Fremont, California in the San Francisco area, replacing the older Oakland Assembly. Groundbreaking for the plant occurred in September 1961, and the plant produced its first vehicle ...

, Fremont, California *

Linden Assembly Linden Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Linden, New Jersey. The plant operated from 1937 to 2005 and made cars, trucks and SUVs for various GM automotive divisions. Engine block and cylinder heads were cast at Saginaw Metal Cas ...

, Linden, New Jersey *

South Gate Assembly South Gate Assembly was a General Motors automobile plant located at 2720 Tweedy Boulevard in the Los Angeles suburb of South Gate, California.

, South Gate, California *Wilmington Assembly, Wilmington, Delaware

References

{{General Motors factories General Motors factories Former motor vehicle assembly plants Motor vehicle assembly plants in Delaware Buildings and structures in Wilmington, Delaware Industrial buildings completed in 1947 Companies based in Wilmington, Delaware 1947 establishments in Delaware 2009 disestablishments in Delaware Defunct manufacturing companies based in Delaware