Wednesday, January 26, 2022

General Motors to invest $7B in electric vehicle manufacturing


Mary Barra, chairwoman and CEO of General Motors, announced a $7 billion investment in Michigan manufacturing will create or retain some 5,000 positions. 
File Photo by Molly Riley/UPI | License Photo


Jan. 25 (UPI) -- General Motors on Tuesday announced a $7 billion investment in its Michigan sites to increase electric truck and battery cell manufacturing capacity.

The automaker said the investment -- the largest in its history -- will create 4,000 new jobs and retain 1,000 existing positions.

"Today we are taking the next step in our continuous work to establish GM's [electric vehicle] 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 chairwoman 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. Our plan creates the broadest EV portfolio of any automaker and further solidifies our path toward U.S. EV leadership by mid-decade."

GM said it plans to construct a new battery cell plant in Lansing, and convert an assembly plant in Orion Township to produce the Silverado EV and electric GMC Sierra. The company is also investing more than $510 million to upgrade the Lansing Delta Township Assembly and Lansing Grand River Assembly for future upgrades.

"These investments also create opportunities in Michigan for us to bring our employees along on our transition to an all-electric future," Barra said.

President Joe Biden said the GM investment will fuel a "historic" manufacturing comeback for the United States.

"From day one, my administration has been laser focused on making sure that America leads the manufacturing future of electric vehicles," he said.

Biden signed an executive order in August setting a goal for half of all new vehicles made in the United States to be electric in some form by the end of the 2020s.

"It's electric, and there's no turning back," he said at the time. "The question is whether we'll lead or fall behind in the race for the future."

The Biden administration also unveiled plans in December to build a large, nationwide charging network for electric vehicles, starting with half a million charges.

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