GM Invests $51M In Bedford, Indiana Foundry For Chevy Silverado EV Drive Unit Castings
Sponsored Links
General Motors has announced a fresh investment totaling $51 million for its aluminum die casting foundry in Bedford, Indiana. The investment will go towards the production of drive unit castings for the up-and-coming Chevy Silverado EV, among other casting applications.
“Our Bedford operation is one of the leading aluminum die casting facilities in the world and this investment is a testament of our confidence in the employees at Bedford,” said GM vice president of North America Manufacturing and Labor Relations, Phil Kienle. “This investment is another example of the company bringing along our workforce in our journey to an all-electric future while we strengthen our current products.”
Renovation work at the facility is slated to begin immediately. The GM Bedford aluminum die casting foundry began manufacturing electric drive unit castings for the 2022 GMC Hummer EV Pickup and 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV earlier this year to support production of the all-electric off-roader at the recently reopened GM Factory Zero facility in Michigan.
The GM Bedford aluminum die casting foundry opened in 1942, and is staffed by 900 hourly and salaried workers. The facility is responsible for semi-permanent mold and die casting processes to produce a variety of components for all four of GM’s U.S. brands (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC), such as structural components, heads, blocks, transmission cases, and drive unit housings.
Back in April, General Motors confirmed that it would offer a new all-electric variant of the popular Chevy Silverado pickup, resulting in a record rise in GM stock value. The upcoming Chevy Silverado EV will be assembled at the GM Factory Zero facility, and will be offered in both retail and fleet iterations, with GM’s Ultium battery technology providing the motivation. Range per charge is expected to be rated at 400 miles. Look for the new Chevy Silverado EV to debut at the Consumer Electronics Show early this coming January.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevy Silverado news, Chevy news, General Motors electric vehicles news, General Motors production news, General Motors technology news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
- Sweepstakes Of The Month: Win a 2022 Corvette C8.R IMSA GTLM Championship Edition. Details here.
Sponsored Links
Given the current climate, if I had to guess, less than 10% of that investment is for the Silverado EV. Given the lack of enthusiasm behind EV’s, this is probably a total machine overhaul to keep the casting plant efficient for all their models and they are touting the fact that a portion of it will be used for the Silverado EV. Lets be honest, when had any OEM be honest about their EV’s??????? 😆
This casting should get a lot of use as it will be in the Chevy truck but also GMC and it would not be surprising it will also be used in the large SUV models they produce.
While initial production will be start up these items will become main stream as the company changes over.
Enthusiasm for some or not the change is coming.
To be honest the enthusiasm may be higher than some estimate and as prices come down they will increase.
The public perception of vehicles has really changed. Many people just see it as a way to get around nothing more. Vehicles really have become appliances seen for utility and balanced by safety, reliability and cost.
I being an enthusiast are being cast more as the outsider.
Sadly, most of the young guys I encounter see their vehicles as just another expensive appliance as you describe. So we are bound to get exactly that in the future. To bad GM builds vehicles that the government wants instead of what their customers want.
Old School Once a car was your shield or bearer that told much about you as it represented you in who you were and what class you were in. Some even tried to use the car to try to be what they may not have been.
Today cars are just seen as transportation.
I think you are making a mistake thinking this is all just the government. Today if GM built what people wanted they would be making more CUV models.
To be honest once the price drops more I expect the EV programs to take off as many people really want them they just don’t have the money for them at the present prices.
There will be some areas where they will be addressed by Hybrids where it is too cold or too far out to get anywhere. Most people can easily live with what we have now and with what is to come will be able to adapt to it fairly easily.
I also expect the range of models to increase with the coming EV products as since under the skin they share much shorter runs of different styles will be more profitable.
Fords CEO is Crying now the change is coming too fast but his company is not as prepared as others too. Yes they have two vehicles out but they are far from what the others are bringing to market soon. Also we have nearly 15 years to go so a lot will happen over that length of time.
ICE is not going to vanish but it is going to get more expensive as EV drops too so people will change by economics too.
Manufacturers are loving EVs, they have thousands of less parts requiring 35% less labor. In the 1990s a boss told me that just the existence of a part cost the company 50k$ per year. IC is not dead but soon will be the premium charge not battery power.
Some people just don’t get it, all the generations of ICE engine development is to give the engines a flat torque curve, less hesitation, and smoother operation, EV fixes all of that in one fell swoop, and if you do not think EV’s are fun or capable, rent a Model Y for the weekend and compare it to driving an XT4, XT5, or Envoy, its more fun, faster (both acceleration and top speed), more cargo space, I mean compare it to any similarly sized AWD vehicle, and come back to tell me Model Y is not exciting, and just transportation. I think 2 days in a model Y you will never look at an ICE powered vehicle the same. I keep thinking about putting a ZZ632 in my 67 C10 project truck when I am done playing with it on the dyno , but now I think I am going to buy a wrecked Tesla Plaid, build a new frame and transfer everything over. Build a 9 second pickup truck that doesn’t make any noise… Interesting. Talk about a sleeper on the weekend cruise.
Take your model Y on vacation and find charging stations, good luck, and when you do find them, not only wait an hour to charge yours, but heaven forbid there’s not 10 cars in front of yours!
Donovan what you just don’t get is human nature. Most people don’t like change and they hate change when it is something they really don’t see as anything wrong.
This is why it is imperative to make the transition as equal in most areas as possible.
The industry knows this and are working to find ways to charge in a time it takes to fill a tank of fuel and a range equal or better than a tank of gas.
Most people don’t know what a flat torque curve is not car to go zero to 60 in 2 seconds.
Enthusiast do not dominate the buyers market. Real people dominate the car buying market and they just want what they have now and anything better they will take.
To be honest most enthusiast are the ones who resist much of the EV segment. Remove the Tesla religion people who are still a small sliver most are those who lust after the Z06 sound.
People want reliable, usable, affordable, safe vehicles with utility. EV will get there and they will in time migrate to the full market in 15 years.
Most will not be converting anything as the charm of what was will remain. I saw the Electric Mustang set the 1/4 mile record for an electrical. The crowd really was unimpressed as it had all the excitement of a RC car vs pro stock.
As long as it’s a cruise and not a trip. The whole charging issue is the major stumbling block for me.
BORING!!!
Comparing a 75k$ Tesla to a 40-50k$ Cadillac is not an equal comparison in any book. But if thats the case lets race them from KC Mo. to Cleveland Oh. A 16 hour drive at speed limit for the Caddy, a 2.5 day drive for the Tesla.
Yeah no thanks you can keep your EV. Having driven EV’s both on the open road and a closed track let me say this. Sure they can go fast and raise a hair when they do. The problem is they are just like riding a jet-ski by yourself. It’s fun the first couple times but it gets old real quick. Now I’m not saying there aren’t good use cases for them specifically for people that live in urban environments or for people who live and work within a small radius, but the reality is they are boring. They are boring because they are smooth. They are boring because they are quiet. They are boring because there is no shifting, reving, or require actually learning to drive them. Just about everything that makes an IC fun they lack. The only thing’s they have that make them appealing to some just aren’t practical to most in a nation that is predominantly rural. What I mean is they are built on the basis of practicality for those with short commutes. Those short commutes that are becoming unaffordable for most of the country.
This investment is for die casting equipment for drive units, all Ultium vehicles will use one of 5 drive unit configurations. GM is doing this very modular, so for the HummerEV and Silverado EV they use 2 different castings. HummerEV front drive unit is the same as the SilveradoEV will use front and rear, and the rear HummerEV drive unit is a dual independent motor in a single case which will only be used on performance variants. Likely a SilveradoE SS at some point will get that HummerEV rear dual motor.
C8.R. You are totally spot on in your paragraph:
“The public perception of vehicles has really changed. Many people just see it as a way to get around nothing more. Vehicles really have become appliances seen for utility and balanced by safety, reliability and cost.”
This is absolutely true for the younger generations. They don’t want home and yard maintenance. They are not interested in garage and basement workshops, industrial arts, self repair. Their preference is for studio or one to two bedroom apartments in mid rise high density apartment buildings with a multi floor garage at the lower level. High speed elevators and garbage chutes. Their interest is the digital world with 80″ inch flat screen televisions, computer workstations, lap tops and smart phones. Their kitchens in the apartments equipped with microwaves, air fryers, blenders, etc., for quick and easy food preparation. Easy quick simple food prep is paramount. Laundry is a hassle, have a service do it. Most shopping for food and tangible goods is done on line and delivered. Physical activity performed at a gym fitness center.
Wellness is a concern. Stay skinny, spry and gaunt. Tasteful tattoos are in.
Wardrobes consists of hoodies, tees, flannels, jeans, sneakers, and boots.
Furnishings – leather furniture and stratoloungers with cup holders and bare floors.
A dog or cat a must.
Libraries, mall shopping are out.
This is your EV audience.
The goal is easy and instantaneous. Even morning coffee is purchased at a drive up window. For the urban crowd, bland EV’s will be the ticket. For the rural and trade crowd EV sales will be an extreme challenge. This is your full sized IC pickup group.
Being a Hoosier myself, I am glad to see the investment in a local factory even though I am not an EV fanboy.
Since Ford’s Mark Farley has been honestly surprised at the HUGE response to the electric F-150 Lightning’s introduction, they’ve doubled their planned production..
I cannot help to see that GM wants to share in some of the limelight; of course necessary to keep the Stock Price Up.
Woke states will of course have unreliable, high-priced electricity, but there remain many areas of the USA that will have reliable electricity for car and truck recharging.
I heard a good joke yesterday: An L.A. Cop stated that ‘Shopping in Los Angeles is More Dangerous than hanging around an Alec Baldwin Movie Set’, haha.
Article photos are GMA renderings orrrr?
The fact that this exists is obvious to a GM Authority reader. Everywhere else I see automotive news it’s been all about the Ford F150 Lightning. GM isn’t doing enough to promote or market the fact that this is even in development. Just like most people have no idea what a Chevy Bolt is.
Mike you are getting sucked in by the marketing and not what really is going on.
The move to EV is not a sprint race but a marathon.
If you look at what GM has coming with their platform and variations of product you will realize they are much farther along than Ford. By 2025 GM will globally have 30 new EV models. This drop in products will be on a level never seen before.
Ford just yesterday said they are working on a specific platform for the F series that is a specific EV platform. Note this is several years out. GM on the other hand have a Chevy Silverado with a specific EV platform for next year.
Ford tried to buy time by rushing the Lighting out to show they are still around but the lighting will pale to the specific platforms.
The Chevy will be shown at the CES often the first of the year. It is much more than a converted gas truck. It will have many features like the Hummer but no where as expensive. 4 wheel steer, crab walk, full glass roof etc. more range and a much stiffer platform.
GM had a history of being desperate and rushing tech out. Now they are doing the right thing on the EV program and waiting for prices to be right and the tech to be fully developed.
The Bolt should have been held back till the battery prices dropped and the tech was better.
In the next few years GM will have a wide verity of products coming along side the ICE and they will let the public make the transition. EV at this point is not for everyone but it will fit for many as it becomes affordable. As it continues to advance it will cover more buyer needs.
The migration will be much like big screen TV. Early models were not great. They were big but they were not the best. As time went on they improved and got better and cheaper. More and more people migrated over.
To judge this you really need to look at what really is being done and ignore the marketing. Fords truck will be outdated by next spring. Ford claims it will double their production next year but look at just how many they really sold.
Tesla pre sells trucks but delays them for years. A forgivable sin when you are the only one on the market. Once others arrive pre sells and late delivery is a formula of failure.
Companies like GM and VW are in a good place to transition. Others still have a lot of work or the lack of money to make up the gap.
Some new start ups may fail but others like Apple have money behind them where they can correct mistakes fast.
Follow the engineering. Follow the accomplishments in the drop of price per KWH, follow the gain in range, follow the drop in charge times, follow the spending on infrastructure. These are what will pace the future.
They said we never would drop from $1500per KwH in 2015 today we broke $100 per KwH $60 per will soon come and by 2030 they expect $36 per as the new technology arrives.
GM is already on to a 3rd Gen battery and working on a 4th Gen and more yet they have not even been to market with them. Things are moving fast.
Might note last week Toyota who was going to play the hybrid game changed and announced their move to full EV products. They plan to save time to match batteries to range and sell cars by range. You want more range you buy a larger vehicle with a larger battery. You want lower cost you buy a smaller car with a smaller battery with less range. This reflect them being on a late start but they will catch up.
Also ICE will still be around even at GM. It will get more complicated and it will get more expensive to meet regulations vs EV that will get cheaper.
Might note potential increased profits with EV is what is driving mfgs. They see ways to build cars at lower cost with control over development cost vs run away cost yo meet future regulations.
Also to move forward you would not like the kind of cars that will be needed to meet future regs. You can only get so much from a gallon of gas before they shrink the cars again.
They have actually announced several things about the upcoming Silverado EV. It gets unveiled in January btw. The Hummer has received great attention. Cadillac and Buick both have 2 evs in the works. They are also working on a Equinox EV, Blazer EV and commercial vans and I’m sure even more. GM is doing a lot in the EV space.
The power grid will NEVER handle the power draw to charge electric vehicles. Anyone who wants an electric vehicle is a fool. Let the government convince you we don’t need fossil fuels and you will starve. Nothing will take the place of diesel tractors to plow and collect your food. And nothing will replace the diesel trucks needed to deliver all your food and supplies. Now, imagine an Electric Fighter Jet, or an Electric Tank running out of battery power in the middle of a battle. EV is a Pipe dream. It is being pushed on people to keep you close to the Power Grid. Short range vehicles, and a power grid that cannot handle the draw to charge all the electric vehicles. California has brown outs. Imagine the total black outs when we have nothing but EV cars and trucks. Most folks will have to charge their vehicles at night when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. Charge your car, or turn off your heat or AC. And hope the electric truck delivering food to the market hasn’t run out of power and all the food spoiled. And then there is the AC compressor to keep the food cool. More batteries for that and less room for cargo. Get over the pipe dream folks.
This is not going to happen over night and most areas are up to it now. If power companies want to make there money they will have the system up and going.
Let’s face it the power companies are the ones here that will benefit the most as this is getting toss right in their lap.
Day8293A you are WAY, WAY overstating the case..
Woke states will have unreliable electricity WITH OR WITHOUT EVs.
Electric cars and trucks will cause less electrical disruption than the FROST-FREE energy HOG refrigerators sold during the 1960’s – requiring the addition of the equivalent of SIX BIG Central Stations to power them over the energy efficient dinky freezer refrigerator models from the 1930’s and 1940’s.
What is never MENTIONED by the BIG EXPERTS is that TOTALLY EXISTING central stations will simply be more effectively utilized on a 24 hour basis – thereby increasing their efficiency, and lifespan…
More electrical usage in general to recharge electric cars and trucks overnight BENEFITS the ‘Grid’ – and will probably ultimately lower prices for the consumer on a per kilowatt-hour basis…. The fact that dollar-wise, electricity bills will increase masks the fact that in some areas of the country – refueling costs in general will go to 1/2 or 1/3 of what is spent at Gasoline Stations….
Corporations totally BANNING ICE vehicles will go out of business…. There will always of necessity be plenty of ICE vehicles sold – whether for the Military, Consumer, or Farmer. The Chicken Littles here can relax.
At night, renewable energy is unavailable. Charge your car to go to work, or turn off the heat or AC. Even with these so called Charging stations, the power grid CANNOT handle the extra load! Power those stations and cut power to homes, or what? I guess after the vaccinated start dropping and the population is reduced, it may work, maybe.
Put it this way, I only agree with the unrelated comment in your comment…. Most of what you said is nonsense… No offense!
1). Doesn’t matter there is no sunshine at night… That is what Central Stations are for..
2). Apparently you never heard of batteries, nor the fact that the wind occasionally blows at night… Not withstanding that before Solar Panels and windmills, there was electricity generated for more than 100 years.
Traditionally – I’m the only one who puts numbers in my comments – but I left them out this time since when I get Super Factual I’m voted down more…
Most of what you said is nonsense, but No offense!
Surprised CA did not try to buy the Enterprise(aircraft carrier) and use it for 10 years as a supplemental power plant. Just a crazy idea. And no not serious but with the power problems CA has, I remember them using locomotives to power small towns during brown outs, crazy ideas may be all they have.
Cars have always been an expensive necessity for most people. The worst investment we make. Adjusted for inflation, I wonder how my Dad’s 1966 Impala (metallic blue with black interior, 283ci. with Powerglide Trans. I believe, wish I still had it), compares to my sister-in-laws’ $76,000 Tahoe. ICEs start wearing out the minute you turn the key. Electric motors can almost run forever. BUT, how long will the battery last and what will it cost me to replace it? AND, how often will one of these “go off” in my garage and burn the house down? As yet unanswered questions.
A few years ago my young nephew, who was then in high school, informed me that he had one friend who was “into” cars like he was. Most of the other kids could care less. Cars were just a way to get from point A to point B. Wonder what the average age is of people who attend the Woodward Dream Cruise?
Replacing or repairing your engine is a lot cheaper than replacing the battery in your EV. There is no free lunch with EV’s.
The transmission for my 2112 Cruise was nearly 6k, my neighbors Forkus Hybrid was over 15k., A good 5.3 will set you 5-6k installed, most battery packs are 12k and falling every year, and rarely do they fail, the current gen (3 years or less) aside from the Bolt hiccup are close to 100% on the road and due to conservative programming will easily last 600k miles before they start to degrade.
The battery warranty is good for 6 years or 100k on every electric vehicle. I’m sure some people keep their vehicles past 100k miles but most don’t. Most Americans drive less than 50 miles a day. It’s cheaper to charge your vehicle at home than to fill up your combustion engine. Most EV owners plug their vehicle in when they get home. It’s fully charged in no time. Just like a cell phone. EV vehicles might not be for everyone but they are for most people.
Another article about garbage EVs 🥱.
When it’s an article that tells me how I can fill up anywhere coast-to-coast in 5-10 minutes and get 500 miles of range all for a purchase price close to a car/truck with ICE then I may start to care.
Fortunately for you Millennium – you will always have your big choice as to what type of vehicle you want to purchase.
1). A modern society needs oil refineries…. They can fiddle around the edges with the percentages but they always must produce about 50% gasoline… Prior to Henry Ford mass producing Model – T’s, refineries used to dump the unwanted gasoline in rivers. Much more environmentally responsible to effectively utilize the gasoline in the clean burning cars of today.
2). In the near future there will be many more Electric Vehicles, but I doubt they’ll be even a majority of the vehicles sold, and I own 3 plug-in vehicles. But I am not like the Silly people who insist that I HAVE to buy a certain type of vehicle, or WORSE YET tell others what form of vehicle to purchase.
Aside to DAY 8293A:
I charge 3 electric vehicles every day, on my home’s small 62 year old electric service….NEVER MODERNIZED. Even charging 3 cars simultaneously does not cause the wires to glow red hot, nor droop down to the ground… HAHA.
To put it as a comparison – my 3 cars simultaneously charging causes less ‘grid strain’ than my next door neighbor (who’s house is 2/3 rds the size of mine) does when she is cooking dinner, and/or drying her clothes..
She has an electric stove and electric clothes dryer, whereas both of mine are gas. Since GAS is 1/3rd the price of electricity – i get much more value for my utility dollar spent.
All Chicken Littles out there – I don’t hear you guys complaining about old-school frost free refrigerators, electric stoves or electric dryers… Or – heaven forbid – an electric water heater which really skyrockets the electric bill.
Like it or not Electric Vehicles will be the future and with each battery development the range extends. There probability alway be a need for ICE vehicles but there are many customers are not afraid for the present EV short comings. Doing a google search, Tesla for this year is well over last year 500,000 EV’s shipped. The Q3 of this year nearly 240,000 vehicles. It all lost sales to ice manufacturers.
Tesla has sold 473,136 electric cars in the first 8 months of 2021. More than any other electric vehicle manufacturer worldwide.
Since 2009, Tesla has produced a total of 1.91 million vehicles.
Tesla has manufactured 386,759 vehicles in the first two quarters of 2021 alone.
Tesla’s revenue in Q1 + Q2 2021 was$22.35 billion.
70,757 employees work at Tesla worldwide.
Sorry, but the power grid cannot handle EV vehicles in the same number of ICE powered vehicles. The entire electrical grid would have to be rebuilt from scratch. The power lines would be so hot they would touch the ground, not to mention all the transformers that would overheat and blow up. It’s a pipe dream being sold to the foolish. They make good ‘golf cart’ transportation around town, but that is about it. Heat your home at night or charge your car for work in the morning. Not much of a choice.
Do you have any idea how ‘little’ electric impact there is by charging a car overnight? I doubt it. The vast majority of people could recharge their cars with the existing 110 volt outlet they have in their garage or carport, and never visit a ‘car charger’ at all.
Doing so would increase the lifespan of the central stations feeding them. Beyond the scope of this discussion to explain why.
Electric vehicles can be charged at power draws comparable to various household appliances. Most electric vehicles charging at home on a 240-volt level 2 charger will draw about 7,200 watts or less. 7,000 watts x 8 hours 56,000 watts x 30 days is 1,680 kw. added to your electric bill. Somehow that seems a little low. They say it is about like your heating furnace. When my very efficient heat pump runs, it adds about 10kw to my bill. And it doesn’t run 8 hours straight every day. If you want to be adding the electric to your bill of running your AC every day for 8 hours straight, great, but that is just ONE vehicle. I have 8 vehicles and keeping all those charged would definitely overload my electric panel box.
DAY8293A, you’re not quite right on your figures. 7,000 watt draw would be the maximum draw. It may take that amount with a nearly fully drain battery pack however, the power consumption decreases because the internal resistance of a battery increases as the battery nears its full potential. Thermometer sensors are all around the battery packs and charging at very high rates for too long of a period will overheat and shorten the life of any rechargeable battery, therefore, built into the program should temperature’s reach a certain level the charge rates will be reduced or turned off until the temperature decreases to safe and efficient levels. As others have stated, a full charge everyday will not be the norm. If someone needs 300 or more miles a day, an EV would not be practical until battery technology takes a big leap, but more likely it will be in small steps.
“…….. I have 8 vehicles and keeping all those charged would definitely overload my electric panel box…..”
Your silly comparisons assume you are driving 200 miles per day in each of 8 vehicles, or 1600 miles per day every day for 365 days a year… So you are saying you drive 584,000 miles per year…
That amount would overload my panel also… But I would pay to have it upgraded a bit, since you are in effect saying you pay over $105,000 per year for gasoline.
Now who is spouting nonsense?
That’s actually completely false. Do some research. Lol
Tesla was built on government cash.
Much of its current profits are thanks to the sale of government regulatory credits to other, traditional automakers, which allowed them to keep making gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs rather than reduce their emissions.Oct 28, 2021
That’s impressive. Of the 2million owners have any had to replace the battery yet and what did it cost? Any fires outside of accidents? Do most owners go back for another Tesla?
Vanman – I’ve owned one Tesla, but it was the most expensive to maintain vehicle I have ever owned, whereas my 3 GM plug-ins are very low maintenance.
It will be quite some time before I purchase a second Tesla.
Yes but 80% of people do not exhaust 100% of their battery everyday, on average 25-40% daily battery use.
Also there are an increasing amount of public chargers both free and pay.
Even my friend who put 100k miles per year on his gen1 Volt could average over 80mpg driving it like he stole it(his words) and when he charged it 3x daily. And it only lost 1mile of E-range in 400k so battery degrade is also a false news story…at least with GM..:)
Peaky Blinker:
Your friend is either very lucky or like many electric vehicle owners – they over-exaggerate the benefits their cars have….The 90,000 mile volt I sold to my tenant is now 10 years old, and he gets only about 60% of the battery capacity the car had originally… Of course, this car is much older, and has a much higher percentage battery use than your friend does, since any high-mileage per year Volt driver would obviously be using the engine most of the time, whereas the 10 year old volt my tenant has, has very few miles on the engine – most of the miles were on the battery.
Even so, only 1 mile lost on the range? I would doubt that. 40 down to 25 has been my experience.