DETROIT—The weak and volatile Russian ruble has forced General Motors to suspend production at its St. Petersburg, Russia, assembly plant from mid-March until mid-May.

WHITE PIGEON, MI—RV manufacturer Forest River Manufacturing will spend more than $7 million to build a new assembly plant here, creating 396 jobs.

ATHENS, TN—Automotive supplier Denso will invest $85 million to expand its fuel injector assembly plant here. The project will result in some 400 new jobs.

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Fourteen people—including the inventors of the blue LED, the nickel-metal-hydride battery, and the X-ray spectrometer—have been named to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

BEIJING—The number of industrial robots in use in China will more than double over the next two years—from 182,000 today to 428,000 by 2017—thus overtaking the robot populations of either North America or the EU’s five largest economies.

DETROIT—Military and commercial vehicle maker AM General LLC will start making Mercedes-Benz SUVs this summer under a new, multiyear contract with the German automaker. AM General will make the R-Class SUV at its commercial vehicle plant in Mishawaka, IN, for export to China.

OTTAWA—The Ontario government urged General Motors and Unifor Wednesday to “fast track” collective bargaining in a bid to end uncertainty over the future of the automaker’s Oshawa assembly plants and its 3,350 hourly employees.

FLAT ROCK, MI—A new video provides a behind-the-scenes look at Ford’s assembly plant here, where the Mustang and Fusion are made.

DETROIT—General Motors uses seven joining methods—including spot welding, laser welding, self-piercing rivets and flow drill screws—to assemble the aluminum body of the new Cadillac CT6 sedan.

FINDLAY, OH—Whirlpool Corp. is using wind energy to power its assembly plant here. Two wind turbines will supply approximately 22 percent of the plant’s electricity.