General Motors plans to invest $6.5 billion in two locations in Michigan to assemble electric vehicles and produce batteries, Automotive News (registration required) reported on Friday.
The investment includes a new battery plant in Lansing, Michigan, which will be part of Ultium Cells LLC’s joint venture with battery supplier LG Energy Solution, according to the report. The two companies are expected to split the estimated $2.5 billion cost of the project.
That could make Lansing the site of one of two Ultium Cells battery factories GM announced in 2021. The automaker has not confirmed the locations of these plants, in addition to new battery plants in Ohio and Tennessee.
2023 Chevrolet Silverado EV
GM also plans to invest $4 billion in the Orion Assembly plant in Orion Township, Michigan, to produce electric versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks. The Chevy Silverado EV made its public debut at CES earlier this month and is expected to arrive as a 2024 model.
GM currently produces the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV at the Orion Assembly plant – although production has been halted for the past few months, as GM package replacement priority for fire hazard recall.
The automaker just reported that its Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant is starting up pre-production Cadillac Lyriq Electric SUV, while GMC Hummer EV production has begun in Hamtramck, Michigan. The Hamtramck factory was renamed Factory Zero, heralding what GM says it will convert into an all-EV facility.
2022 EV bolt assembly – battery combination
GM also in December announced plans to build a battery raw material factory– a joint venture with Korea’s Posco Chemical – to supply the battery and electric vehicle supply chain in North America.
Meanwhile, GM has been the center of drama surrounding the EV . tax credit. Because the credit has expired on GM vehicles, it’s arguably the most beneficial from credit recovery — and the rewards for being done by the union are credited there. This credit could get another chance if the Biden administration is willing to break its Build Back Better law into pieces.
