GM is generating 2,200 jobs to invest $2.2B in the first all-electric vehicle plant
The factory, which was scheduled to close, will now build GM's electric Hummer pickup.
General Motors ' dream of an all-electric future is coming into sharper focus and gaining momentum with a $2.2 billion investment to manufacture a range of all-electric trucks and SUVs at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. GM's first all-electric truck will be a production pickup expected to start in late 2021. The Cruise Origin, a shared, electric self-driving car unveiled last week by Cruise in San Francisco, will follow this shortly after. Detroit-Hamtramck will become GM's first fully dedicated assembly plant for electric vehicles. The Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant was one of five North American factories GM said it would shutter in November 2018 but as part of an ambitious plan to launch more than 20 battery-electric vehicles, or BEVs, by 2023, the automaker reversed course. The first to roll out of what is locally known as the "Poletown Facility" will be an all-electric truck that will be the subject of an upcoming Super Bowl commercial. It is widely expected that the name "Hummer," used for a GM brand abandoned in 2010 after it emerged from bankruptcy, will return.
The plant will be able to use an "architecture" vehicle which is extremely flexible, "said GM Chairman Lloyd Reuss, industry spokesman for its underlying structure. It will allow the automaker to produce multiple products "for multiple brands, with multiple variants, with multiple customers (offering) different value ranges at different price points to reach consumers wherever they may be. Reuss added that there will be several versions of pickup trucks after a news conference at the factory. The plant in Poletown will also be able to produce SUVs and crossovers, he said.
GM has received relatively few other information on production models, although the company has also announced that it will develop an all-electric Cadillac crossover at a second battery-powered car plant in northern Detroit where the Chevrolet Bolt EV is already being produced.
The $2.2 billion GM will spend on the Detroit-Hamtramck plant is part of a larger $3 billion investment agreed as part of the contract with the United Auto Workers Union negotiated last autumn. It includes several other initiatives that help the ambitious strategy of the automaker to "electrify" their cars. Last year it said it would set up a factory to manufacture batteries in Lordstown, Ohio, a $2.3 billion joint venture with South Korea's LG Chem.
Including plants and goods, GM has already reported more than $10 billion in EV-related expenditures, Reuss said, a number he believes will go significantly higher as more models move through the product development cycle. Some will be primarily targeted at the US, others at overseas markets, including China.
The president of the GM has acknowledged that the investment policy is risky. Although sales of battery-cars rose in 2018, demand shrank last year, increasing overall by barely 3 per cent. Industry analysts nevertheless expect that the growth rate will increase exponentially as more goods come to market. Boston Consulting Group's new study expects battery-based cars will account for 51% of the U.S. car market by 2030.
“Word-of-mouth will be critical "in order to increase demand for EVs, Reuss said, noting studies that show extremely high rates of satisfaction among owners. However, the fact that battery costs are tumbling is equally important, and the network of public charging stations is expanding rapidly. GM is just one of many businesses betting on EVs. Volkswagen dedicated $12 billion to the production of battery-cars and Ford contributed more than $11 billion.
