Detroit-area automakers in 2022 are accelerating their investments in electric vehicles (EVs). Such steps include expenditures and restructurings.
What follows is a look at what’s happening at General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co.
Detroit-based GM said in January it plans to spend more than $7 billion at four Michigan manufacturing sites. The automaker said the investment will create 4,000 new jobs and retain 1,000 others.
GM is looking to boost electric battery cell and electric truck manufacturing capacity. The company said the January announcement represented its largest single investment.
Portions of the investment include construction of a new Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Lansing and the conversion of GM’s assembly plant in Orion Township for production of the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the electric GMC Sierra, GM’s second assembly plant scheduled to build full-size electric pickups.
CEO Mary Barra has said GM is seeking an all-electric future. The automaker’s announced introductions, include the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq and Chevrolet Silverado EV.Barra, in a statement, said GM’s investment “solidifies our path toward U.S. EV leadership by mid-decade.”
The Orion and Ultium Cells Lansing investments will support an increase in total full-size electric truck production capacity to 600,000 trucks.
Here are the highlights of GM’s plan:
The automaker is investing $4 billion to convert Orion Assembly to produce electric trucks using the GM-developed Ultium Platform. The company said this provides the flexibility to build vehicles for every customer and segment.
GM said the investment is expected to create more than 2,350 new jobs at Orion and retain about 1,000 current jobs when the plant is fully operational. The new jobs will be filled by a combination of new hires and transfers from automaker plants.
GM and LG Energy Solution, via their Ultium Cells joint venture, are investing $2.6 billion to build Ultium Cells’ third U.S. battery cell manufacturing plant.
GM said the investment is expected to create more than 1,700 new Ultium Cells jobs when the plant is fully operational. Site preparations will begin in the summer of 2022, with battery cell production scheduled to begin in late 2024.
Michigan officials said the GM investments are vital to the state.
“The stakes are incredibly high for Michigan as the industry transitions from producing internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles,” Michigan Economic Development Corp. CEO and Michigan Strategic Fund President and Chair Quentin Messer Jr. said in a statement.
“Michigan is doubling down not only as the state that builds cars, but also as the state that is developing, testing and deploying the next generation of transportation solutions in mobility and electrification,” he said.
Separately, GM said in April it and Honda Motor Co. will co-develop “affordable” electric vehicles. The automakers plan to start production of the new EVs in 2027.
“By working together, we’ll put people all over the world into EVs faster than either company could achieve on its own,” Barra said in an April statement.
Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford announced in March that it is splitting its global auto operations. One segment will concentrate on developing EVs while the other will deal with conventional vehicles powered by internal combustion engines.
Ford Model e, the EV unit, “will accelerate innovation and delivery of breakthrough electric vehicles at scale,” the company said in a statement. Ford Blue, the traditional unit, “will build out the company’s iconic portfolio of ICE vehicles to drive growth and profitability—relentlessly attacking costs, simplifying operations and improving quality.”
“This isn’t the first time Ford has reimagined the future and taken our own path,” Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford said in the March statement. “We have an extraordinary opportunity to lead this thrilling new era of connected and electric vehicles, give our customers the very best of Ford, and help make a real difference for the health of the planet.”
“We have made tremendous progress in a short period of time,” CEO Jim Farley said in the March statement. “We have launched a series of hit products globally and demand for our new EVs like F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E is off the charts.”
Farley will serve as president of Ford Model e as well as being CEO of the entire company. Kumar Galhotra will serve as president of Ford Blue.
The company said Ford Model e and Ford Blue “will be run as distinct businesses, but also support each other.”
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