The company recently named its first all-electric plant which will create thousands of new jobs, announced a $2 billion investment in electric vehicle production, and debuted its Hummer EV
In the past week, General Motors (GM) has announced a string of initiatives signaling its intent to move toward an all-electric future. The automaker recently shared that the name of its reconfigured Detroit-Hamtramck facility, the company’s first all-electric manufacturing plant, will be Factory Zero. According to GM, it’s the largest single investment in a plant in the company’s history. The company said that when construction on Factory Zero is complete, the facility will create a whopping 2,200 manufacturing jobs.
“The name Factory ZERO reflects the significance of this facility in advancing GM’s zero-crashes, zero-emissions, and zero-congestion future. Factory ZERO will be the launchpad for GM’s multi-brand EV strategy. The facility has advanced technology and tooling and was designed with a focus on sustainable manufacturing,” the company said in the press release.
GM Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing Gerald Johnson said, “Factory ZERO is the next battleground in the EV race and will be GM’s flagship assembly plant in our journey to an all-electric future.” “The electric trucks and SUVs that will be built here will help transform GM and the automotive industry.” Additionally, GM confirmed that it will invest $2 billion into transitioning its Spring Hill, Tennessee assembly plant to build EVs.
The automaker is also positioned to ramp up its EV battery-making efforts, with construction on its Ultium Cells LLC Battery Plant currently underway in Northeast Ohio. GM says that the nearly three-million-square-foot plant will bring more than 1,100 jobs to the region. Ultium Cells LLC is a joint venture between GM and LG Chem. The batteries are unique in that “the large-format, pouch-style cells can be stacked vertically or horizontally inside the battery pack. This allows engineers to optimize battery energy storage and layout for each vehicle design,” GM said in a press release.
Most recently, GM debuted its long-anticipated Hummer EV–the company’s first electric pickup truck. The vehicle is an all-electric iteration of the automaker’s Hummer brand, which for years, received criticism over its harmful environmental impact until the line was discontinued in 2010.
Each year until 2024, when the $80,000 base model is released, GM will roll out three other versions with the price decreasing on each. Hummer EV Edition 1 starts at $112,595, with production on the vehicle beginning late next year at Factory Zero in Detroit. Just hours after reservations opened up on GM’s site, the company said it had sold out.
Hummer EV will compete with upcoming electric trucks from automakers like Tesla, Rivian, and Ford. GM says it will be capable of more than 350 miles of range per charge, reach 0-60 in approximately three seconds, and will come with a first-of-its-kind crabwalk feature that will allow the vehicle to drive diagonally at low speeds. It’s interior will feature a 12.3-inch diagonal Driver Information Center as well as a 13.4-inch diagonal touch screen.
Select trims of the Hummer EV will be compatible with 800V DC fast chargers, which will allow for vehicle charging speeds of 100 miles per 10 minutes. The car will be the first to utilize GM’s new Ultium-battery-powered EV platform, according to CNBC.
If the company’s other moves weren’t enough evidence of a shift toward an electric future, it’s reimagining a gas guzzler is a promising sign.
“We are committed to investing in the U.S., our employees, and our communities,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra in the Spring Hill plant investment release. “These investments underscore the success of our vehicles today and our vision of an all-electric future.”
