Photo: GM
General Motors announced it will spend big bucks on battery technology research and on upgrading two of its plants in preparation for the next generation Chevy Volt and two other future electric cars.
No less than $384 million will be invested at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant on new equipment, body shop tooling and additional plant upgrades. Over the last five years, GM spent a grand total of more than $1 billion on upgrading the Detroit-Hamtramck plant.
GM's Detroit-Hamtramck facility employs circa 1,600 workers. Their assemble vehicles such as the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid and its European sibling, the Opel Ampera, as well as the Cadillac ELR, Chevrolet Impala and the Malibu midsize sedan. The Michigan-built Volt, Ampera and ELR are sold in 33 countries around the world.
The other $65 million Washingtons will go at its Brownstown Battery Assembly Plant on research & development of next generation lithium-ion batteries and future battery systems. “These investments will help the next-generation Chevrolet Volt build on its position as the leader in electrified propulsion” said Gerald Johnson, GM North America Manufacturing vice president. The lithium-ion battery packs used by GM's extended-range electric vehicles entered mass production at this facility in October 2010.
GM's Detroit-Hamtramck facility employs circa 1,600 workers. Their assemble vehicles such as the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid and its European sibling, the Opel Ampera, as well as the Cadillac ELR, Chevrolet Impala and the Malibu midsize sedan. The Michigan-built Volt, Ampera and ELR are sold in 33 countries around the world.
The other $65 million Washingtons will go at its Brownstown Battery Assembly Plant on research & development of next generation lithium-ion batteries and future battery systems. “These investments will help the next-generation Chevrolet Volt build on its position as the leader in electrified propulsion” said Gerald Johnson, GM North America Manufacturing vice president. The lithium-ion battery packs used by GM's extended-range electric vehicles entered mass production at this facility in October 2010.
As for the second generation Chevrolet Volt, we've reported you before that big changes are to occur underneath. The next-gen Volt will use an all-new FWD platform that GM will most probably use as the basis for all its future front-wheel drive models.
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