General Motors announced today that it will open a $2.6 billion battery plant in Lansing, Michigan, that Orion Assembly will build the Chevrolet Silverado EV, and that it will upgrade two more Michigan assembly plants to achieve nearer-term goals.
“Today we are taking the next step in our continuous work to establish GM’s EV leadership by making investments in our vertically integrated battery production in the U.S., and our North American EV production capacity,” said Mary Barra, GM Chair and CEO. “We are building on the positive consumer response and reservations for our recent EV launches and debuts, including GMC HUMMER EV, Cadillac LYRIQ, Chevrolet Equinox EV and Chevrolet Silverado EV.”
Part of GM’s push to become the EV market leader in the U.S. by 2025, these investments will help support its Ultium platform and all the vehicles based on it. When both the Factory ZERO and Orion facilities are fully ramped up, the automaker expects to be able to produce 600,000 trucks between them.
Read Also: First Hummer EVs Roll Off The Assembly Line, First Deliveries Can Now Begin
The Orion facility, located in Lake Orion, Michigan, will receive a $4 billion investment to allow it to build electric trucks from both Chevrolet and GMC. Production will begin in 2024 and the improvement will include new body and paint shops, as well as new general assembly and battery pack assembly areas. GM predicts it will need another 2,350 workers to operate the expanded facility.
The new Ultium battery production site meanwhile will be built by Ultium Cells, the joint venture created by GM and LG Energy Solutions. It will become the third U.S. battery cell manufacturing plant from Utlium Cells and will require more than 1,700 employees to operate. GM expects the 2.8 million square foot facility to open in 2024.
By the end of 2025, with these sites and other previously announced manufacturing locations, GM expects to be able to produce 1 million electric vehicles in North America.
Finally, GM is investing $510 million in two Lansing-area vehicle assembly plants. The Lansing Delta Township assembly site will produce the next-generation Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave, while the Lansing Grand River Assembly site will get general plant upgrades.
“This significant investment demonstrates our commitment to strengthen our Michigan and U.S. manufacturing presence and grow good-paying jobs,” said Mary Barra, GM Chair and CEO. “We will have the products, the battery cell capacity and the vehicle assembly capacity to be the EV leader by mid-decade.”