GM has announced that it will sell its stake in the Ultium Cells LLC battery plant in Lansing, Michigan to joint venture partner LG Energy Solution. The facility is nearly complete, and the automaker says that it expects to recoup its investment in the facility. The transaction is expected to finalize in the first quarter of 2025, while LG Energy Solution will be provide immediate access to the facility to install new equipment.
The sale will not affect GM’s ownership interest in the Ultium Cells LLC joint venture with LG Energy Solution. General Motors will continue to source batteries for new electric vehicles from its existing battery production facilities in Warren, Ohio, and Spring Hill, Tennessee. Ultium Cells batteries already provide the juice in new GM electric vehicles like the Cadillac Lyriq, Chevy Blazer EV, Chevy Equinox EV, Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, and GMC Hummer EV.
“Our EV profitability is rapidly improving thanks in part to our strategic decision to build battery cells in the U.S. with LG Energy Solution. It will be years before some of our competitors approach this level of performance,” said GM executive vice president and CFO, Paul Jacobson. “We believe we have the right cell and manufacturing capabilities in place to grow with the EV market in a capital efficient manner.”
The Ultium Cells facility in Lansing is already staffed by nearly 100 employees, and is still expected to meet its previous employment commitments.
Back in August, General Motors and Samsung SDI finalized a deal to build a new EV battery plant in Indiana. Reports indicate that the two companies will invest roughly $3.5 billion with an initial annual production capacity estimate of 27 gigawatt-hours, expanding to an annual capacity of 36 gigawatt-hours by 2027. General Motors chose to partner with Samsung SDI after LG Energy Solution was reportedly unable to commit to the creation of another battery plant in addition to the facilities in Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan.
General Motors is also looking to develop new battery technologies, including LFP batteries.
Comments
Another sign that GM anticipates reduced EV production in the immediate future.
Another sign that GM is having money trouble despite trying to create the impression that they don’t. They’ve spent too much on EVs with no ROI so far and China is no longer the big profit center it once was. All the layoffs have been telling and this move is too.
They’re diversifying their battery supply, not reducing it. If they were having money issues they wouldn’t be moving forward with the Samsung SDI factory or exploring another one with CATL and TDK.
Didn’t they have a fire recently?
I think that was Factory Zero
So the State of Michigan gave this project nearly $700M in various subsidies to build the plant mainly at gm’s behest. Now gm bails out and it’s all LG. Be interesting to see how that State money was accounted for in this project and particularly the derived benefit in the sale of the facility.
And they gave them money for Orion that now sits collecting dust. Look for that plant to be reconfigured for ICE/hybrid production in the near future.
Good.
GM needs to get out of the Pouch battery business and shift to LFP but more importantly Cylindrical cells.
Regardless of which form factor GM settled on, they need to either partner with CATL, or license their battery technology. The others are years behind CATL.
Another sign that Barra is in way over her head. They just built the plant with some taxpayer money and now they are selling it.
Hopefully Michigan claws back the money better than Ohio did with the Lordstown complex.
“Hopefully Michigan claws back the money….”
Zero percent chance of that happening unfortunately. The State got scammed and they’ll do nothing.
The green energy new SCAM is dead! Stop trying to make so many EV cars! We want efficient ICE cars not those rainbow 🌈 cars!
GM discontinued what still is the most advanced EV – the second generation Chevy VOLT !
There is no car built, ICE, Hybrid, extended range hybrid (i.e. Prius Prime/ RAV4 Prime), or apparently anything on the drawing boards, that matches the range, convenience and fuel reduction achieved with the Voltec system. I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it now – thank you Bob Lutz for your vision and persistence in pushing the development envelope at GM !