General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) announced plans to invest US$7bn in four sites in the US, aimed at boosting its electric pick-up truck capacity as it competes with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) for top spot in the electric vehicle (EV) market.
The investment, the largest in the automaker's history, will significantly increase manufacturing capacity of battery cells and electric trucks, while creating 4,000 new jobs and retaining another 1,000, GM said in a statement.
GM said it will have the capacity to produce more than 1mln EV cars and trucks in North America by the end of 2025.
The automaker aims to convert 50% of its North American assembly capacity to EV production by 2030.
This comes around seven months after GM announced it will spend US$35bn to accelerate EV development, which itself was seven months after the group laid out plans for US$27bn of EV investment to create a range of 30 EVs and autonomous vehicles - including perhaps a self-driving electric flying Cadillac.
This week's plans include the construction of a new plant to build Ultium battery cells in Lansing, Michigan and the conversion of GM’s assembly plant in Orion Township, Michigan for production of the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the electric GMC Sierra. Ultium Cells is a partnership with Korea's LG Energy.
The Orion and Ultium Cells Lansing investments will increase full-size electric truck production capacity to 600,000 trucks, the car manufacturer said.
"Today we are taking the next step in our continuous work to establish GM’s EV leadership by making investments in our vertically integrated battery production in the US, and our North American EV production capacity,” said Mary Barra, GM chair and CEO.
"Our plan creates the broadest EV portfolio of any automaker and further solidifies our path toward US EV leadership by mid-decade.”
News of GM's investment means that the battle for the EV market is heating up.
Current market leader Tesla is soon opening its second US plant in Austin, Texas and is expected to sell more than 1mln EVs globally in 2022.
Meanwhile, Ford last year announced that it would invest more than US$11bn in new electric truck and battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky, and earlier this month it said it will have the capacity to build 600,000 EVs a year, including 150,000 F-150 Lightning pickups, within 24 months.