DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp GM.N on Wednesday said it would delay the planned closing of a New York plant that builds four-cylinder engines in response to the surge in demand for fuel-efficient cars.

GM had planned to close its powertrain plant in Massena, New York, at the end of 2008.

The 49-year-old plant, which employs about 250 workers, will now stay in operation until June 2009, GM spokeswoman Lynda Messina said.

GM, like other U.S. automakers, has been scrambling to cut production of SUVs and pickup trucks and ramp up output of more fuel-efficient passenger cars in response to a sharp shift in consumer demand that has gathered momentum in recent months.

The engine components produced at GM’s Massena plant include engine blocks used in the popular Chevrolet Cobalt.

“We’ve had an increase in demand for fuel-efficient engines,” Messina said.

GM still plans to move production of four-cylinder engine blocks to a plant in Saginaw, Michigan, by the middle of next year, the spokeswoman said.

GM’s overall sales are down 17 percent through the first seven months of the year. By contrast, sales of the Cobalt are up 16 percent.

The 270-acre GM plant in Massena, New York was built in 1959 to build components for the Chevrolet Corvair.