General Motors, an American multinational corporation is famous for designing, manufacturing, distributing, and marketing vehicles. The four core automobile brands of General Motors are Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, and Buick. General Motors have been at the forefront of the automotive revolution for the past 100 plus years. In the future motor industry, General Motors is working on making vehicles with zero congestion, zero emissions, and zero crashes.
Their vision of zero-emission has made them make electric vehicles. Talking about General Motors’ electric vehicle plan, they have pushed the start button to All-Electric Future. GM is planning to manufacture and distribute electric vehicles by 2025.
About General Motors’ Electric Vehicle Plan
What Is Ultium
It is modular of General Motors that is having a range, flexibility, and power. The Ultium Platform is the heartbeat of future all-electric vehicles. This modular will help General Motors to accommodate a wide range of sizes and styles of electric vehicles. They can be Trucks, SUVs, Off-Roaders, Sedans, Crossovers, etc. Ultium Platform features drive unit combinations and a modular battery. The different electric vehicles will be of wide range, performance, outstanding design, and affordability.
General Motors is going to be the first automaker that will be using a wireless battery management system for electric vehicles. The common set of battery components will be able to power multiple types of electric vehicles. Also, the batteries will be easier to reuse, especially for second-life applications.
Battery Facts
There are some battery facts that you should know are included in the electric vehicle plan of General Motors.
- To develop and mass-produce the battery cells, General Motors is having a joint venture with LG Energy Solution. It will bring electric vehicles closer to the price parity with gasoline vehicles.
- It is predicted by General Motors that the second generation of Ultium packs by 60% cheaper than the current batteries used today. Also, it is expected that it will have twice the battery energy density.
- General Motors is planning 19 different powertrain or drive-unit and battery configurations. There will be horizontal and vertical battery stacks. The electric vehicles will be of different types such as affordable cars, crossovers, luxury SUVs, and trucks.
- Vertical battery stacking is a unique configuration in the electric vehicle industry. It allows a flat cabin floor with more interior space as compared to the electric vehicles using cylindrical battery packs.
- The Ultium battery cells feature state-of-the-art Nickel Cobalt Manganese Aluminum (NCMA) chemistry. The design of NCMA is featured to reduce the content of cobalt from the batteries by over 70 percent.
- General Motors plans to reuse or recycle 100 percent of the returned batteries.
- Dedicated high voltage battery safety is applying a comprehensive development strategy to manufacture electric vehicles with high voltage and battery safety.
Production Facts
The production plan of General Motors’ electric vehicle is as follows:
- By 2025, General Motors plans to launch around 30 electric vehicles globally. More than two-third of electric vehicles will be available in North America. General Motors will be representing Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac electric vehicles with different price ranges. They will be for work, family, performance, and adventure.
- Three-quarters of Bolt EV buyers are new to General Motors. They are the most satisfied customers and ambassadors of GM.
- It is expected by General Motors to sell 1 million electric vehicles per year by the mid of this decade. The largest markets will be North America and China.
- Chevrolet Bolt EV is currently in the market for customers.
- In September 2020 General Motors announced the return of Hummer, known as GMC Hummer EV, as a series of electric vehicles. It is to be sold by the GMC portfolio. This GMC Hummer EV is having 1,000 horsepower.
- Cadillac LYRIQ will be initially available in the first half of 2022 and the reservation starts this year. This all-electric vehicle will be having 340 horsepower to press you into the seat when you hit the paddle.
- The Cruise Origin is the first production vehicle in partnership with General Motors, Honda, and Cruise. It is an autonomous electric vehicle with a modular design developed for one million miles and 24-hour service.
- More than 3,000 global patents have been filed by GM R&D for electrification.
Charging Facts
When the production of GM electric vehicles will be started, the charging points will be needed for the users. Therefore, General Motors have been working on the charging facts as follows:
- To make it easier for EV owners, General Motors have found and obtain quotes from the pre-approved installers of electric vehicle charging stations.
- The existing users of Chevrolet Bolt EV are already having more than 25,000 public places in the United States and Canada to charge their electric vehicles on level 2 or fast chargers.
- The Energy Assist feature displays the dynamic data from charging networks. More than 40,000 charging stations across North America are available for the Chevrolet Bolt EV drivers. It enables them to find, initiate and pay for charging.
- GM plans to add 3,500 charging stations for their upcoming electric vehicles in the United States and Canada. Later on, the number of charging stations will be tripled than currently offered.
- Over the next 5 years, General Motors is planning to add more than 2,700 fast-charging stations. For this purpose, they are working with EVgo. The network of public fast-charging stations will be tripled in the United States.
- 100 percent renewable energy will be used in the EVgo chargers. It is made possible through the collaboration of GM and EVgo. It will keep their passion and goal with the commitment of sustaining the energy both inside and outside the walls.
Other Plans
General Motors have been investing more in the manufacturing of electric vehicles than gasoline or diesel vehicles. As a result, GM will end the production and sales of fossil-fuel vehicles by 2035. It even includes hybrids and plug-in hybrids. GM plans to become the carbon-net zero by 2040. After President Joe Biden signed the legislation to rejoin the UN Paris Agreement, General Motors have been working more on electric vehicles.
In the upcoming years, General Motors will be a leading electric vehicle manufacturer, distributor, designer, and marketer in the motor industry. To make it a leading motor manufacturer of electric vehicles, General Motors will invest $35 billion between 2020 and 2025 for the production of EV and AV vehicles. This investment is more than GM’s gas and diesel investment.
A $2 billion investment will be done in 2020 for the transition of Spring Hill assembly. This will be wholly dedicated to electric vehicle production. For all-electric SUVs and Trucks, General Motors has already invested $2.2 billion at their Factory Zero assembly plant.
To produce the battery cells for electric vehicles, a plant worth $2.3 billion has been set up at Lordstown, Ohio. The Lordstown plant is about the size of 30 football fields. It is having an annual capacity of more than 30-gigawatt hours.
General Motors – Stepping in For Electric Vehicles
For more than 100 years and more, General Motors have been manufacturing and distributing hatchbacks, sedans, SUVs, Trucks, and Crossovers to the whole world. Since the motor industry has changed over the past few years, they are stepping in for electric vehicles. Just as before, General Motors wants to be the leading manufacturer of electric vehicles.
Apart from interesting facts about General Motors’ electric vehicle plan, they have already brought back Hummer as an electric vehicle. This pickup truck variant is having more power than before.