New Production Plants Pave Way to EV Future
DETROIT – Plans to rapidly scale up EV manufacturing on a global level are being made by General Motors.
GM says it is adding battery assembly/pack facilities to its sites in North America and China. In addition to adding to these previously existing sites, some additional propulsion facilities are being converted for manufacturing drive units.
Over $14 million in investments have been made since 2020 within 10 North American sites. GM says this will allow them to maximize manufacturing capacity in the region, allowing for over a million EVs to be manufactured by the end of 2025.
“This is a key step to deliver on our target to achieve carbon neutrality in our global products and operations by 2040,” GM says.
GM says they believe that these additional EV production plants will reduce capital expenditures up to $1.5 billion per assembly plant as an alternative to building all-new plants. The production time for the vehicles is also projected to be less than half the time of that required for greenfield plants.
To increase battery cell and electric truck manufacturing capacity, GM is investing $7 billion into four manufacturing sites in Michigan. GM says this is the single largest investment announcement in its history. A new Ultium Cells battery plant is included in this, which is scheduled to be built in Lansing, Michigan.
GM’s Orion Township plant will also be converted to a production plant for the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the electric GMC Sierra. This will mark the construction of GM’s second assembly plant for building full-size electric pickups.
Battery technology is also expected to see an expansion for development and affordability. In 2021, GM announced it would be joining the all-new Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center facility. This will be located at the Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, and is anticipated being finished soon this year.
50,000 square feet have recently been added to the center as EV demand continues to rise, GM says. This increases the total area of the center to 85,000 square feet.
Source: General Motors
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
