GM Just Made the Largest Investment in the Company’s 112-Year History
As one of the foremost car manufacturing companies in the world, GM has been leading the charge toward an electric future. Now, GM will expand their efforts even further, creating new production plants solely for their EVs with a huge new investment.
have promised to devote funds and technology towards the development of EVs. Considering that many countries are banning the production of new gas-powered cars by 2030, you'd think this move was essential. However, many automakers are simply rushing to meet that deadline while spending as little as possible.
In contrast, GM seems to be putting its money right where its mouth is. According to
, the automaking giant invested $7 billion dollars directly towards the development of some upcoming EVs. Where is all that money going?
GM's new electric plants will speed up EV production
More than half of GM's latest investment, about $4 billion, will go straight to the current factory in Michigan's Orion Township. This is the main plant where the Chevy Bolt is built, along with its SUV counterpart. With the extra funds, the factory will be expanded in order to accommodate the production of two more upcoming GM EVs.
One of these is the all-electric GMC Sierra pickup, powered by GM's new Ultium battery packs. GM has said in the past that it will offer various sizes of the Ultium battery to suit each driver's needs.
predicts that the range of these batteries could reach between 200 to 400 miles.
So far, GM hasn't released any horsepower specs or towing capacities for the GMC Sierra EV. It will probably have a standard RWD with one motor, and two motors for the AWD versions. Save for the futuristic front end that was teased recently, the Sierra EV's full appearance also remains a mystery.
The Orion plant would also be responsible for the Chevy Silverado EV's production. Chevy claims that the most powerful model will have 664 horsepower on tap, and AWD will come standard.
$2.6 billion of GM's investment has been allocated to making a new battery production facility in Lansing, Michigan. The Ultium battery, co-created by LG Chem's Ultium Cells, uses 70% less cobalt than traditional EV batteries. This both reduces the production cost and the environmental impact of mining the raw materials.
This plant should be up and running by 2024. GM says that batteries made at this plant will be directly shipped to other vehicle factories in the area.
These two new facilities are just the start of GM's ambitious
The Lansing Delta Township and Grand River assembly plants will get $510 million each. Most of the money will reportedly be used for the next-gen Chevy Traverse, now equipped with several new safety features.
Some funds will also be used to update equipment and other areas of the factories. Thanks to the production of these new plants, an estimated 4,000 new jobs will be created.
What this investment might mean for your car insurance
With another full-scale factory in operation, interested buyers could receive their future GM EVs sooner than expected. Production of both the Sierra EV and Silverado EV is expected to begin in 2024.
That means we might not see deliveries until 2025. However, some consumers will get their trucks sooner from Factory Zero, GM's only other electric pickup plant. In any case, it's never too early to start shopping for new car insurance.
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