GM Plans $2.2 Billion Investment to Build Electric Trucks, SUVs
GM Plans $2.2 Billion Investment to Build Electric Trucks, SUVs
General Motors on Monday said it would spend $2.2 billion to convert a Michigan
assembly plant to produce all-electric trucks, SUVs and self-driving vehicles.
In an announcement about the plan, the automaker said its "vision of an
all-electric future is coming into clearer focus and gaining momentum" with the
move.
The project paves the way for the release of GM's first all-electric truck,
which is scheduled to begin production in late 2021, the company said. This
will be soon followed by production of the Cruise Origin, a shared, electric,
self-driving vehicle unveiled by the company's Cruise division last week.
The work will be done at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, which currently
employs about 900 people building the Cadillac CT6 and the Chevrolet Impala,
the company said.
The company said that with the investment, the plant when fully operational
will create more than 2,200 manufacturing jobs and be the company's first fully
dedicated electric vehicle assembly plant.
GM said it will also invest an additional $800 million in supplier tooling and
other projects related to the launch of the new electric trucks.
"Through this investment, GM is taking a big step forward in making our vision
of an all-electric future a reality," said company President Mark Reuss, who
added GM is planning to build multiple electric truck variants at the plant in
coming years.
The GM announcement is just the latest in a series of recent high-profile steps
by major auto makers to increase production of electric cars and trucks.
In March 2019, Ford announced it was investing $850 million to prepare the Flat
Rock Assembly plant in southeast Michigan for EV production. The company, which
plans to invest more than $11 billion globally toward development and
production of electric vehicles, in November unveiled its electric Mustang SUV
and has announced plans for an electric F-150 pickup truck.
The Volkswagen Group in November said it planned to spend nearly 60 billion
euros over the next five years on hybridization, electric mobility and
digitalization, including the introduction of 75 all-electric models and
about60 hybrid models through 2029. VW originally had a goal of producing 1
million EVs by 2025, but in December upped that target to 1.5 million due to
strong EV sales.
Meanwhile, the Boston Consulting Group reported earlier this month that global
sales of electrified vehicles are growing even faster than expected. The group
projects that all types of EVs will control a third of the market by 2025 and
51% by 2030, with battery-powered electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids making
up about half those sales, for a quarter of the market.
Boston Consulting said a combination of government incentives, increasing
emission regulation that are forcing companies to build more EVs to meet
targets, falling battery prices and increased range are all contributing to the
acceleration in EV sales.
Not all market watchers are so optimistic about the future uptake of EVs. In a
December report, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology warned against
optimistic expectations about falling battery prices. MIT's Energy Initiative
predicted that EV purchase prices a decade from now will still command a $5,000
cost premium over ICE vehicles due to the cost of manufacturing batteries.
--Reporting by Steve Cronin, scronin@ihsmarkit.com
--Editing by Michael Kelly, michael.kelly3@ihsmarkit.com
Copyright, Oil Price Information Service
assembly plant to produce all-electric trucks, SUVs and self-driving vehicles.
In an announcement about the plan, the automaker said its "vision of an
all-electric future is coming into clearer focus and gaining momentum" with the
move.
The project paves the way for the release of GM's first all-electric truck,
which is scheduled to begin production in late 2021, the company said. This
will be soon followed by production of the Cruise Origin, a shared, electric,
self-driving vehicle unveiled by the company's Cruise division last week.
The work will be done at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, which currently
employs about 900 people building the Cadillac CT6 and the Chevrolet Impala,
the company said.
The company said that with the investment, the plant when fully operational
will create more than 2,200 manufacturing jobs and be the company's first fully
dedicated electric vehicle assembly plant.
GM said it will also invest an additional $800 million in supplier tooling and
other projects related to the launch of the new electric trucks.
"Through this investment, GM is taking a big step forward in making our vision
of an all-electric future a reality," said company President Mark Reuss, who
added GM is planning to build multiple electric truck variants at the plant in
coming years.
The GM announcement is just the latest in a series of recent high-profile steps
by major auto makers to increase production of electric cars and trucks.
In March 2019, Ford announced it was investing $850 million to prepare the Flat
Rock Assembly plant in southeast Michigan for EV production. The company, which
plans to invest more than $11 billion globally toward development and
production of electric vehicles, in November unveiled its electric Mustang SUV
and has announced plans for an electric F-150 pickup truck.
The Volkswagen Group in November said it planned to spend nearly 60 billion
euros over the next five years on hybridization, electric mobility and
digitalization, including the introduction of 75 all-electric models and
about60 hybrid models through 2029. VW originally had a goal of producing 1
million EVs by 2025, but in December upped that target to 1.5 million due to
strong EV sales.
Meanwhile, the Boston Consulting Group reported earlier this month that global
sales of electrified vehicles are growing even faster than expected. The group
projects that all types of EVs will control a third of the market by 2025 and
51% by 2030, with battery-powered electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids making
up about half those sales, for a quarter of the market.
Boston Consulting said a combination of government incentives, increasing
emission regulation that are forcing companies to build more EVs to meet
targets, falling battery prices and increased range are all contributing to the
acceleration in EV sales.
Not all market watchers are so optimistic about the future uptake of EVs. In a
December report, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology warned against
optimistic expectations about falling battery prices. MIT's Energy Initiative
predicted that EV purchase prices a decade from now will still command a $5,000
cost premium over ICE vehicles due to the cost of manufacturing batteries.
--Reporting by Steve Cronin, scronin@ihsmarkit.com
--Editing by Michael Kelly, michael.kelly3@ihsmarkit.com
Copyright, Oil Price Information Service
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