EMD's headquarters and engineering facilities are based in McCook, Illinois,[note 1] while its final locomotive assembly line is located in Muncie, Indiana.

EMD also operates a traction motor maintenance, rebuild, and overhaul facility in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

Aware of the needs of branch line services of railroads and the opportunities provided with GE's new internal combustion-electric propulsion and control technology, he quit his position with White and set up shop in a Chicago hotel with his partner and a designer to develop and market a new generation of self-propelled railcars.

The Zephyr used the first major product of the new GM-Winton venture, a 600 hp, eight cylinder version of the Winton 201A Roots blown, uniflow scavenged, unit injected, 2-stroke diesel engine.

As the Budd and Pullman Standard companies entered contracts to build more diesel-powered streamliners, they became major customers for EMC.

Diesel power had been shown suitable for small, lightweight, high speed trains, in addition to its more established role in yard service.

Also in 1938, EMC increased its reach up the chain of locomotive production by transitioning from General Electric equipment to in-house produced generators and traction motors.

EMC offered support services including financing, training, and field maintenance that would ease the transition from steam to diesel and boost their market in the last years before US entry into World War II.

The performance of the new 567 engine in passenger locomotives also built confidence in the viability of diesel power for freight service.

General Motors moved production of locomotive engines under the authority of EMC to create the GM Electro-Motive Division (EMD) on January 1, 1941.

America's entry into World War II temporarily slowed EMD's locomotive production; United States Navy ships gained priority for diesel power and the petroleum crisis of 1942-43 made coal-fired steam a more attractive option.

That gave an advantage to EMD's state of technical development with higher powered diesels in the critical postwar years.

Passenger services facing increasing competition from air and automotive travel rapidly replaced steam for image and cost reasons, but the biggest growth market was for freight locomotives.

Latecomers to the diesel locomotive business Baldwin, Fairbanks-Morse, and Lima-Hamilton struggled in the market as their products failed to gain a solid reputation.

Owing to their ease of maintenance and versatility, most locomotives sold in North America since the introduction of the GP9 have been road-switcher, or hood, units.

Fairbanks-Morse, after struggling to maintain a foothold in the industry with their opposed piston marine powerplant, left the locomotive field in 1963.

EMD began turbocharging the 567 around 1958; the final version, the 567D3A (built from October, 1963, to about January, 1966) produced 2,500 hp (1,900 kW) in its V-16 form.

[1][25] After the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement came into effect in 1989, EMD decided to consolidate all locomotive production at the Diesel Division of General Motors of Canada (formerly GMD) plant in London, Ontario, a development which ended locomotive production at the La Grange, Illinois plant in 1991,[note 1] although the Illinois facility continued to produce engines and generators.

In addition, Union Pacific also owns nearly 500 EMD SD70ACe locomotives, six of which have been painted in "Fallen Flags" (acquired/merged railroads) commemorative liveries.

In 2004, CSX took delivery of the first SD70ACe units, which were advertised by EMD as more reliable, fuel efficient, and easier to maintain than predecessor model SD70MAC.

Like its sister road switcher, the SD70ACe, the SD70M-2 meets the United States EPA Tier 2 diesel emissions requirements using the same engine.

Confirmation came the following day, with a press release issued by General Motors, stating it had agreed to sell EMD to a partnership led by Greenbriar Equity Group and Berkshire Partners.

EMD maintains major facilities in McCook, Illinois,[note 1] and Muncie, Indiana in the United States, Sete Lagoas, Brazil and San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

With the sale of the land, the large sign of "Electro Motive Division" that stood at the corner of 55th St. and East Ave. was removed but is preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum.

[40] On April 14, 2010, Electro-Motive opened a facility in San Luis Potosí, Mexico for the maintenance, rebuild, and overhaul of traction motors and other electrical equipment.

[46] The company also entered into subcontracting and licensing arrangements, both for whole locomotives, and diesel and electrical drivetrains (genset plus traction motors and control electronics).

[57] Bombardier Transportation has also acted as subcontractor, manufacturing units at its plant in Ciudad Sahagún, Mexico since 1998, with over 1,000 locomotives completed by 2007.

In 2010, EMD announced its intention to establish its own manufacturing facility in India, potentially in Bihar, through a PPP project with the state government, or in Uttar Pradesh.

[64] In 2012, the EMD formed a joint venture with Barloworld, Electro-Motive Diesel Africa (Proprietary) Limited, to supply locomotive and rail-related products to the sub-saharan African market.

[66] EMD also provides maintenance services, technical support, parts inventory, and sales and marketing services from many other locations spread throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, China, India, Pakistan, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Egypt, and South Africa.