General Motors said Tuesday it will invest US$7 billion in Michigan, much of that aimed at dramatically boosting production of full-size electric pickups, intensifying a battle with rival Ford for EV supremacy in North America.
Both U.S. automakers, however, will have to contend with current leader Tesla, which will soon open a second U.S. plant in Austin, Texas, and is on pace to sell more than 1 million electric vehicles globally in 2022.
GM said its Detroit-Hamtramck and Orion Township plants will be able to build more than 600,000 electric trucks a year by late 2024, with three other plants in Tennessee, Ontario, and Mexico boosting the company’s total North America EV production capacity to more than a million units by late 2025.
In January, Ford said it will have the annual capacity to build 600,000 electric vehicles, including 150,000 F-150 Lightning pickups, within 24 months, when it aims to become “the clear No. 2 electric vehicle maker in North America” behind Tesla.
Last year, Ford said it would invest more than US$11 billion in new electric truck and battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky, along with Korean partner SK Innovation.
At a press briefing Tuesday, GM Chief Executive Mary Barra said Detroit-based GM is “committed to make our home state the epicenter of the electric vehicle industry.”
GM’s investment includes US$2.6 billion with Korean partner LG Energy Solution in a new battery cell plant in Lansing that will supply Orion Township and other GM assembly plants when it opens in late 2024. GM also is spending US$4 billion to overhaul and expand the Orion plant, which will build different variants of the new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra electric pickups, President Mark Reuss said in a media briefing.
GM said last June it would boost electric and autonomous vehicle spending to US$35 billion through 2025, a 30-per-cent jump over its prior forecast.
Keyword: GM's US$7-billion investment in EVs takes aim at Ford, Tesla