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General Motors And LG Chem Announce Lordstown Battery Plant

General Motors and LG Chem have announced plans to build a large new battery plant in the Lordstown region of Ohio.

The plant will mass-produce battery cells for GM’s future battery-electric vehicles. GM attached photos of the future Cadillac electric crossover to the press release, indicating the plant will supply battery cells for the vehicle. It also said LG Chem will “benefit from a dedicated production stream of future EVs from GM’s next generation of battery-electric vehicles, including an all-new battery-electric truck coming in the fall of 2021.”

Chevrolet Bolt EV battery pack

Together, GM and LG Chem will invest a total of $2.3 billion in the facility through a new, equally owned joint-venture company. The plant will employ around 1,100 people. Between the new battery plant and the sale of Lordstown Assembly to the newly created Lordstown Motor Company, GM says the Northeast Ohio and the Mahoning Valley area will transform into “a major hub for technology and electric vehicle manufacturing,” in the coming years.

The automaker also said the plant “will be extremely flexible and able to adapt to ongoing advances in technology and materials,” indicating that this will be GM’s main battery manufacturing plant for years to come, even as battery technology advances and changes.

“With this investment, Ohio and its highly capable workforce will play a key role in our journey toward a world with zero emissions,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in a prepared statement. “Combining our manufacturing expertise with LG Chem’s leading battery-cell technology will help accelerate our pursuit of an all-electric future. We look forward to collaborating with LG Chem on future cell technologies that will continue to improve the value we deliver to our customers.”

“Our joint venture with the No. 1 American automaker will further prepare us for the anticipated growth of the North American EV market, while giving us insights into the broader EV ecosystem,” added LG Chem CEO Hak-Cheol Shin. “Our long-standing history with General Motors has proven our collective expertise in this space, and we look forward to continuing this drive for zero emissions.”

Workers at the plant will be represented by the UAW, according to various media reports, though GM’s press release did not mention if employees would be unionized. If true, this would make the plant the first unionized battery cell manufacturing facility in the United States.

GM first announced it build a new battery cell manufacturing plant in the Lordstown area back in September, though the specifics of the plan were not made clear at the time. It is believed the battery plant was used to help wager the new national agreement with the UAW, placating the union as GM declined to allocate production of a new vehicle to the shuttered Lordstown Assembly plant.

Groundbreaking on the GM-LG Chem plant is expected to begin in mid-2020. The plant should be up and running by mid-2021 at the latest, with GM’s electric pickup truck set to start rolling off the assembly line at Detroit-Hamtramck in the fall of that year.

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Comments

  1. Amazing news for so many reasons.
    I am Happy that Lordstown will get a new Factory as the People there need the Jobs. Nowhere near the amount the Cruze Plant sustained but something is better than nothing.

    Reply
  2. And the Villagers rejoiced.

    Here is another case of there is more going on than most know. This was a deal that was not done over night and one that could not be talked about till the deal was cut.

    Reply
  3. “…an all-new battery-electric truck coming in the fall of 2021.”

    The obvious and continued lack of specifying a brand here by GM in official statements is all the confirmation I need that Hummer is back. If it was an EV Silverado, they’d be promoting the hell out of it, as Ford is doing with their F150 EV and Rivian alliance (particularly in light of the CyberTruck war thing). They’re keeping the “M-Brand” close to their chests for the big reveal and media frenzy next year…it’s gonna be a party. Buckle up.

    And welcome back Hummer.

    Reply
    1. @G8Burnout
      While I am Super Excited to have Hummer coming back, which makes perfect sense as a Luxurious Off Road EV Brand, GM needs an EV Silverado and Sierra as well. Cannot have Ford come out with an EV F-150 and all GM has is an Expensive Hummer Pickup Truck to Battle with.

      Reply
      1. @Momolos
        Agreed 100%. If you read some of the reporting that came from the LMC Automotive forecast this past November, the reports say that there will be an EV truck for Cadillac (almost certainly an Escalade) and an EV truck for either Chevy or GMC (likely a Sierra) coming in 2023, which addresses your point. The truck and SUV coming in 2021, however, were identified only as part of the “M-Brand,” whereas the Cadillac and Chevy/GMC were specified by their actual brands. Hummer as a luxurious EV off-roader makes a ton of sense, especially when you consider how well-known the Hummer brand is (little marketing costs), and the buzz it would create coming back, ironically, as an electric brand.

        I’d say, based on all available evidence out there, that the Hummer return is basically a certainty at this point.

        Reply
        1. I just think a Sierra or the Silverado coming out in 2023 is way too late. You are basically giving the Head-start of the Market to Ford.
          In my opinion you need the Hummer Truck where you can charge more for it and a Silverado to keep Chevy Owners from Bolting. The Hummer can help offset the cost of the Silverado. You can ill afford to allow Ford to have that whole Market Share.

          Reply
          1. Agreed again, on all points. I too wish the Silverado/Sierra was coming sooner than 2023, I’m just telling you what I know via the reporting. Don’t shoot the messenger haha

            Reply
            1. Oh I know I wasn’t shooting the messenger. HAHA

              Reply
    2. It would definitely explain why they cancelled the supposed GMC off-road SUV back in August (even though they were still benchmarking the Wrangler) since it it would conflict with their electric Hummer plans.

      My question is: Where would they sell Hummer vehicles? Through Cadillac or Buick/GMC dealerships? I don’t see them creating the same dealer model from the last time Hummer was around.

      Reply
      1. Good point on the cancellation of the GMC Wrangler competitor. I would assume that the Hummer models will still be very capable off-road, as it will still be a truck underneath, electric or not. Mary Barra was quoted last week as saying that the coming 2021 truck would be very capable. I’d always prefer a gas Hummer brand, but I’ll take Hummer back in electric form as long as it can fight the Wrangler off the pavement.

        As far as dealerships, I can only imagine they’d sell them through Buick/GMC dealers. With GMC’s recent venture with the AT4 “rugged” trims, and the fact that a Hummer SUV and truck would be far more at home among Sierras and Yukons than CT$s and XT5s, I can’t imagine they’d sell them out of Cadillac dealers.

        Reply
      2. @Andy
        I would say Hummer EV’s will be sold at Cadillac dealerships. Remember we are allegedly promised multiple Future Cadillac EV vehicles. That would mean that their Dealerships will be more inclined to sell and service them. Just my hunch anyways.

        Reply
  4. The reality is more people will pay more for a EV Hummer than a EV F150. The odds of GM making money will be much better than Ford making money on the F150 EV.

    Until Batteries are cheaper the higher priced models will drive the EV segment profits.

    Lets face it the Hummer would be a Chevy under the body with EV drive line.

    The reality is this is a low volume segment and prices will prevent fleet sales for a while yet.

    Also with Hummer if it works great and it can be sold by Cadillac or GMC dealers. If it fails you kill it like any other single model. This will not be like last time where you had to deal with an entire stand alone dealer network.

    Another thing is with the higher prices most Hummers never went off road. Most were image vehicles to the club or social settings. No need to worry about charging at Moab.

    Lets face it the last Hummer was the LA urban assault vehicle. It was the vehicle to see and be seen in.

    Also square trumps triangles every time. LOL!

    Reply
  5. Again, this agreement is a proof that GM always is very late in the field.

    Reply
    1. There is already a bunch of Tesla model 3 in the streets!

      Reply
  6. I still think battery powered vehicles have a long way to go. Especially in colder weather. I just don’t see them being reliable. Especially where I live where it can be -40 C for 3 months straight.

    Reply
  7. All this talk about Hummer coming back, wow never thought that would happen. It would be pretty ironic if it comes back as an electric brand given one of the reasons it was killed off was because it was a gas guzzler brand. M-brand huh? I guess we will find out. Hope GM isn’t messing up. They got rid of lots of brands in 09 and were saying simple is better and now they may be bringing one back. Hmmm. Hope they know what they are doing and it doesn’t end up hurting Chevy and GMC. To the subject of the article though, why couldn’t GM partner with an American company to build batteries? I’m not sure if there were any American companies willing or even any to partner with but if there were and GM didn’t, that’s upsetting.

    Reply
    1. Actually this move would generate so much positive media for free it would be hard to ignore.

      The battery issue is complicated. One you need to find a willing partner, two you need one with advanced technology. Three you need a partner already not committed to another brand.

      You need to worry first about a partner that can bring money to the table, technology and production capability. There are few American companies that can do that. In fact the supplier network for EV items is very tight as it is up yet to keep up with demand.

      Vehicles like the Mach E are limited to 50k units due to limited abilities of Fords suppliers.

      Finally the suppliers need to deliver on budget as the Battery is the most price problem part of the cost of a EV.

      LG is a good supplier. GM will own half and at least they will be built here 2 out of threes not bad.

      Reply
  8. Everyone misses the point again.
    GM closed down Lordstown forcing people to quit or move all over the country because there was no new product for the plant. Meanwhile GM adds two new products the blazer and the onix for Mexico.
    Now GM will build a new plant near the old plant but people from Lordstown can’t work there.
    What the heck is going on at GM. This was once a company people dreamed of working for but now people are quitting.
    Bailed out by the same Americans they are now screwing.

    Reply

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