It seems General Motors is very serious about becoming a leader in electric vehicles. The company announced today an investment of $7 billion for increased production of electric vehicles and battery manufacturing, all located in Michigan. It's the single biggest investment in the company's history, creating 4,000 jobs while retaining 1,000 in the process.
"Today we are taking the next step in our continuous work to establish GM's EV leadership by making investments in our vertically integrated battery production in the U.S., and our North American EV production capacity,” said GM CEO Mary Barra. "We are building on the positive consumer response and reservations for our recent EV launches and debuts, including GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Equinox EV, and Chevrolet Silverado EV. Our plan creates the broadest EV portfolio of any automaker and further solidifies our path toward U.S. EV leadership by mid-decade."
Gallery: 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV
The EV investments focus on two locations, the Orion Assembly Plant north of Detroit, and a new plant in Lansing dedicated to manufacturing batteries. The Orion Assembly Plant already manufactures the Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV; assembly will continue as the plant is overhauled to also build the Chevrolet Silverado EV and forthcoming GMC Sierra EV. Production of the trucks is expected to begin in 2024, and it will become the third plant in GM's portfolio for building Ultium-based EVs. Once online, GM expects to have the capacity for manufacturing 1 million EVs a year starting in 2025.
As for the new battery plant, it is a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution and will break ground in the summer of 2022. Similarly, it will be GM's third facility dedicated to Ultium battery production. It's expected to go online in 2024. Two other Lansing-based facilities not connected to EV development will also see investments under the current plan.
Speaking to reporters, GM President Mark Reuss said Michigan was chosen as the location for these investments because of existing relationships with suppliers, and for logistics purposes. Having heavy batteries manufactured near vehicle assembly locations makes sense, though future investments in other locations are being considered.
