General Motors Takes Major Step in Ramping Up Electric Vehicle Manufacturing

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Although the U.S. has been slower to embrace electric vehicles (EVs) than other parts of the world, U.S. auto manufacturer General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) (GM) (Detroit, Michigan) is out to change that. This week, the company made the largest single investment announcement in its history, the majority of it geared toward EV production.

On the table in GM's investment plan is $7 billion earmarked for Michigan facilities, much of it geared toward "significantly increasing battery cell and electric truck manufacturing capacity."

The greater part of the allocated investment ($4 billion) will go toward the conversion of GM's Orion assembly plant to produce electric pickup trucks, including the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the electric GMC Sierra. GM already is in the process of completing a retool of its Factory ZERO near Detroit to convert the plant into an all-electric vehicle production plant. According to the company, when both Factory ZERO and the Orion plant are ramped up to full capacity, they will be able to support production of 600,000 electric trucks per year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here for related project reports.

The Orion assembly plant will become GM's third assembly facility transformed to produce EVs. In addition to Factory Zero, GM's plants in Spring Hill, Tennessee; Ingersoll, Ontario; and Mexico (expected to kick off later this year) are being converted to EV production. Subscribers can click here for related project reports.

The other major EV-related announcement comes in the form of $2.6 billion toward a grassroot battery-manufacturing plant in Lansing, Michigan. Site preparations are planned to begin this summer, and battery cell production is scheduled to begin in late 2024. The Lansing plant will supply Orion and other GM assembly plants. Subscribers can click here for the project report.

The Lansing facility will become GM's third battery cell-manufacturing site, along with plants in Tennessee and Ohio. Subscribers can click here for related project reports.

In addition to the Orion and Lansing investments, $510 million was allocated toward the Delta Township and Grand River assembly plants in Lansing to produce the next-generation Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave and for plant upgrades.

While the $510 million seems to be allocated to what GM describes as "near-term product enhancements," the company's long-term goals are geared toward EVs. Late last year, the company announced that it would sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035, part of a broader plan to become carbon-neutral by 2040.

According to GM, the company will have the production capacity for 1 million EVs per year by the end of 2025 in North America. "Our plan creates the broadest EV portfolio of any automaker and further solidifies our path toward U.S. EV leadership by mid-decade," said GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra in a press release.

While GM's EV goals are perhaps the loftiest of all U.S. automakers, other manufacturers also are taking strides in EV and battery cell production. Last year, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) (Dearborn, Michigan) announced plans to invest $11.4 billion in three battery-manufacturing sites and a vehicle-assembly facility in the U.S. Southeast. Similarly to GM, a Ford official said it was the company's largest capital project in the company's history. For additional information, see September 30, 2021, article - U.S. Electric Vehicle Market Still Faces Big Challenges, Despite New Investment Announcement.

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