GM and Ford have announced the development of a six-speed automatic transmission production plant and other related matters. In October 2002, the two companies reached an agreement on the joint development of a gearbox, with a total investment of 720 million U.S. dollars (approximately 5.9 billion U.S. dollars). The newly developed 6-speed automatic transmission is a front-wheel drive or 4-wheel drive vehicle transmission. Compared with the 4-speed transmission, the fuel efficiency can be increased by up to 4%. It plans to start production in 2006.
The transmission was produced at the General Warren Plant (Michigan, USA), Ford's Van Dyke Plant (Michigan, USA) and Sharonville Plant (Ohio, USA). The number of employees in each factory will reach 500, 400 and 250 respectively.