General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) has announced its exit from Michigan’s Ultium Cells LLC electric vehicle (EV) battery plant before the factory’s completion.
Partner LG Energy Solution will buy General Motors’ stake in the “nearly completed” plant, the carmaker said on Monday.
“We believe we have the right cell and manufacturing capabilities in place to grow with the EV market in a capital-efficient manner,” chief financial officer Paul Jacobson commented.
General Motors will maintain its interest in Ultium Cells LLC, utilizing production from plants in Warren, Ohio and Spring Hill, Tennessee.
“Our EV profitability is rapidly improving thanks in part to our strategic decision to build battery cells in the US with LG Energy Solution,” Jacobson added.
“It will be years before some of our competitors approach this level of performance.”
Plans for the $2.6 billion site were unveiled in 2022, when General Motors had been looking to develop production capacity for one million EVs come 2025.
The target has since been scrapped though, owing to slower-than-anticipated uptake of EVs, with the company previously saying units would be built to demand.
General Motors added on Monday that it expected to recoup investments in the site.