GM Unveils New Ultium Batteries And Flexible Global Platform To Quickly Expand Its Electric Vehicle Portfolio
WARREN, Mich. – Starting today, General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) brings together hundreds of employees, dealers, investors, analysts, media and decision makers to share details of its strategy to increase sales of electric vehicles ( VE) of the business quickly, efficiently and profitably.
“Our team took on the challenge of transforming product development at GM and positioning our company for an all-electric future,” said Mary Barra, GM CEO. “What we have done is build a multi-brand and multi-segment EV strategy with economies of scale that rival our full-size truck business with far less complexity and even more flexibility.”
The heart of GM’s strategy is a modular propulsion system and a very flexible third-generation global EV platform powered by proprietary Ultium batteries. They will allow the company to compete for almost all customers in the market today, whether they are looking for affordable transportation, a luxury experience, work trucks or a high-performance machine.
“Thousands of GM scientists, engineers and designers are working to achieve a historic reinvention of the business,” said GM president Mark Reuss. “They are on the verge of coming up with a profitable EV business that can satisfy millions of customers.”
Ultium batteries and strengths of the propulsion system
- GM’s new Ultium batteries are unique in the industry because large pocket-size cells can be stacked vertically or horizontally inside the battery. This allows engineers to optimize the storage and arrangement of battery energy for each vehicle design.
- Ultium energy options range from 50 to 200 kWh, which could allow GM’s estimated range of up to 400 miles or more on a full charge with 0 to 60 mph acceleration as low as 3 seconds. The internally designed engines will support front-wheel drive, rear wheel drive, all-wheel drive and performance all-wheel drive applications.
- Electric vehicles with Ultium motor are designed for level 2 and DC fast charging. Most will have 400 volt batteries and fast charge capacity up to 200 kW while our truck platform will have 800 volt batteries and fast charge capacity 350 kW.
GM’s flexible and modular approach to EV development will lead to significant economies of scale and create new revenue opportunities, including:
- Continuous improvement in battery costs: GM’s joint venture with LG Chem will result in battery cell costs of less than $ 100 / kWh. The cells use proprietary low cobalt chemistry, and ongoing technological and manufacturing advances will result in even lower costs.
- Flexibility: GM’s all-new global platform is flexible enough to build a wide range of trucks, SUVs, crossovers, cars and commercial vehicles with exceptional design, performance, packaging, range and accessibility.
- Capital efficiency: GM May Spend Less Capital To Expand Its EV Business Because It Can Leverage Existing Properties, Including Land, Buildings, Tools And Production Equipment Like Body Shops And Workshops paint.
- Reduction in complexity: Vehicles and propulsion systems have been designed together to minimize complexity and the number of parts beyond today’s electric vehicles, which are less complex than conventional vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. For example, GM initially plans 19 different battery and drive configurations, compared to 550 combinations of internal combustion powertrains available today.
- Growing customer acceptance: Third-party forecasters expect US electric vehicle volumes to double from 2025 to 2030 to reach around 3 million units on average. GM estimates that volumes could be significantly higher as new electric vehicles are launched in popular segments, charging networks increase and total cost of ownership for consumers continues to drop.
- New sources of income: By vertically integrating battery cell manufacturing, the company can go beyond its own fleet and allow the technology to others.
The first generation of GM’s future EV program will pay off. The initial programs will pave the way for new accretive growth. GM technology can be scaled to meet customer demand far more than the more than one million global sales the company expects in the middle of the decade.
Upcoming launches and revelations
Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick will all launch new electric vehicles starting this year. The next new Chevrolet EV will be a new version of the Bolt EV, launched in late 2020, followed by the 2022 Bolt EUV, which will launch in summer 2021. The Bolt EUV will be the first vehicle outside the Cadillac brand to present Super Cruise, The industry’s first true hands-free driving technology for the highway, which GM will expand to 22 vehicles by 2023, including 10 by next year.
The Cruise Origin, an autonomous electric shared vehicle, presented to the public in January 2020 in San Francisco, was the first product to be unveiled using GM’s third generation EV platform and Ultium batteries. The next Cadillac Lyriq luxury SUV will be in April. Details of its launch will then be shared. The reveal of the GMC HUMMER EV with Ultium engine will follow on May 20. Production is expected to begin in the fall of 2021 at GM’s assembly plant in Detroit-Hamtramck, GM’s first assembly plant entirely dedicated to the production of electric vehicles.
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