Fairfax Assembly & Stamping is a

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

(GM) automobile manufacturing facility in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

. The site was originally a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

bomber plant, and has a comprehensive history of producing vehicles for numerous GM brands. It exclusively assembled the critically-acclaimed Saturn Aura, the 2007 ''

Motor Trend ''Motor Trend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949. Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles published ''Motor Trend'' until 1998, when it was sold ...

'' Car of the Year. The plant employs over 2,200 hourly and salaried employees, who are represented by

United Auto Workers The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...

Local 31. For many years, the plant was a key producer of GM's mid-size sedans, including the long-running

Chevrolet Malibu The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car that was manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet from 1964 to 1983 and from 1997 to 2025. The Malibu began as a trim-level of the Chevrolet Chevelle, becoming its own model line in 1978. Originally a rear-w ...

. Following an industry-wide shift away from sedans, the plant became central to GM's evolving manufacturing strategy, undergoing retooling to produce the next-generation

Chevrolet Bolt The Chevrolet Bolt EV (marketed in Europe as Opel Ampera-eExcept the UK) is a Battery electric vehicle, battery electric Subcompact car, subcompact hatchback manufactured and marketed by General Motors under its Chevrolet brand from late 2016 ...

electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...

alongside the popular Chevrolet Equinox SUV.

History

Fairfax I (1945–1987)

The original Fairfax assembly plant was located next to Fairfax Airport, the former location of the

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

Bomber Production Plant where the

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served ...

was manufactured during

. After the war, GM purchased the building and converted it to an automobile assembly plant under the management of GM's newly created Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac Assembly Division. In 1952, alongside car production, the plant produced F-84F jet-powered fighters.

Fairfax II (1987–present)

The original Fairfax plant ceased production in May 1987, and production was moved to the newly constructed Fairfax II. The new plant was developed on the grounds of the former Fairfax Airport in a project reported to cost $1 billion. The new plant began production with the 1988 model year Pontiac Grand Prix. On August 23, 2005, the Fairfax facility built its 10 millionth car. The plan to build the next-generation Chevrolet Bolt EV and add production of the gasoline-powered Chevrolet Equinox was confirmed as part of the 2023 UAW-GM national labor agreement, placing Fairfax at the forefront of the company's dual-track strategy for EVs and traditional vehicles. The UAW's 2023 "Stand Up Strike" did not initially target the plant, but Fairfax was idled on September 20, 2023, due to a parts shortage from the striking Wentzville Assembly plant, resulting in the temporary layoff of about 2,000 workers. The 46-day national strike concluded with a historic contract that included a 25% general wage increase over its 4.5-year life, the reinstatement of cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), and the elimination of the tiered wage system. The agreement secured the plant's future by allocating production of the next-generation Bolt EV and Equinox to Fairfax. The workforce is represented by UAW Local 31. The Aura was a cornerstone of GM's effort to revitalize Saturn by shedding its image of building small, practical cars and competing directly with popular mid-size sedans like the

Honda Accord The , also known as the in Japan and China for certain generations, is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1976, best known for its four-door sedan variant, which has been one of the best-selling cars in the United States sinc ...

and

Toyota Camry The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Cam ...

. The Aura was built on the global GM Epsilon platform, which it shared with the Chevrolet Malibu, and it was praised by critics for its European-inspired design and driving dynamics. Its critical acclaim peaked when it was named the 2007 ''

'' Car of the Year, a major achievement that brought significant positive attention to both the brand and the quality of production at the Fairfax facility. The Aura's production ceased not due to its own merits, but as a result of GM's decision to discontinue the entire Saturn brand during its 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring. The end of

production in November 2024 represented a shift in GM's manufacturing strategy within a larger industry trend of phasing out traditional sedans in favor of SUVs and EVs. GM confirmed the move was necessary to retool the Fairfax facility for the next-generation Bolt EV and the upcoming Equinox, swapping a legacy sedan for new electric technology and a high-demand compact SUV.

Products

Past

* 1988–2003 Pontiac Grand Prix * 1996–1997

Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme The Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme is a mid-size car produced by Oldsmobile between 1966 and 1997. It was positioned as a premium offering at the top of the Oldsmobile Cutlass, Cutlass range. It began as a trim package, developed its own roofline, ...

* 1998–2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue * 2007–2010 Saturn Aura: It was built exclusively at Fairfax, with total U.S. sales of 19,746 (2006), 59,964 (2007), 59,380 (2008), and 21,395 (2009). * 2010–2016

Buick LaCrosse The Buick LaCrosse is a four-door, front-wheel-drive sedan manufactured by Buick since model year 2005, and marketed variously across four generations for the North American and Chinese markets. The first-generation LaCrosse replaced the Centu ...

* 2004–2024

: A high-volume product for the plant, with U.S. sales in its final full year of production at 130,341 (2023). * 2019–2024 Cadillac XT4

Upcoming

(2025-) * Chevrolet Equinox (2027-)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairfax Assembly General Motors factories Motor vehicle assembly plants in Kansas Buildings and structures in Kansas City, Kansas Industrial buildings completed in 1987 1987 establishments in Kansas