General Motors said Tuesday (January 25) it will invest $7 billion in Michigan, much of that aimed at dramatically boosting production of full-size electric pickups, intensifying a battle with rival Ford Motor Co 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.
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 $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 $4 billion to overhaul and expand the Orion plant, which will build different variants of the new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra electric pickups.
(Production: Kia Johnson)