General Motors already has some of the most advanced and fuel efficient engine on the road. And most of these engines are under the firm’s range of Ecotec four-cylinder engines. But the Detroit automaker announced on Thursday it is readying three U.S. plants for the production of the next-generation Ecotec family.

Investing more than $494 million dollars, GM will be readying three US plants for the production of the next-generation Ecotec engine. This endeavor will produce nearly 500 new jobs.

The money will be used for the facility upgrades, new machinery and new tooling. The improvements will be made at GM’s Tonawanda, Defiance and Bay City plants, with the Tonawanda facility receiving most of the investment. Using $425 million, the facility will increase annual capacity of the next-generation Ecotec family engine to 370,000 units which will create about 470 jobs.

The Defiance plant will receive $59 million of the investment, with the funds being used to increase annual engine block production to 188,000 units. The investment will add 80 jobs to the area. Another $10.5 million will be allocated to GM’s Ecotec connecting rod plant in Bay City, generating 15 new jobs.

“GM is transforming its product portfolio to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, and the next generation Ecotec engine is an integral part of that transformation,” said Denise Johnson, vice president – labor relations. “The investment in state-of-the-art four-cylinder engines is another example of GM’s commitment to replace larger-displacement engines with more compact, advanced four-cylinder engines that optimize fuel savings and performance.”