Workbench Logo
Workbench Logo
Workbench Logo

General Motors brings EV battery production in-house

By / 10 years ago / International News / No Comments

Production will be moved to Brownstown, south of Detroit, where the batteries for the Chevrolet Volt, Vauxhall Ampera and Cadillac ELR have been built since October 2010. It follows a recently announced $65m (£38.7m) investment in the plant, as part of a $449m (£268m) funding package for facilities in Michigan.

The redesigned 19kWh battery pack is 39kg (15%) lighter than its predecessor, and uses 192 lithium-ion cells made at the LG Chem plant in Holland, Michigan. General Motors said there is no drop in range as a result of the new battery, despite its reduction in weight.

Larry Nitz, executive director of GM global transmission and electrification engineering, said: ‘Using our in-house engineering and manufacturing expertise enabled us to deliver a battery system that is more efficient and lighter than the 2014 Spark EV without sacrificing range.

‘Our successful working relationship with LG Chem has allowed us to deliver a new battery system for the Spark EV that helps us to better leverage our economies of scale.’

For more of the latest industry news, click here.

Alex Grant

Trained on Cardiff University’s renowned Postgraduate Diploma in Motor Magazine Journalism, Alex is an award-winning motoring journalist with ten years’ experience across B2B and consumer titles. A life-long car enthusiast with a fascination for new technology and future drivetrains, he joined Fleet World in April 2011, contributing across the magazine and website portfolio and editing the EV Fleet World Website.

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.