GM has announced plans to invest $121 million to improve its Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant, where the Volt, Ampera and the new 2014 Cadillac ELR are built. The company will expand the 3.6 million-square-foot plant, adding an additional 450,000 square feet to give it more space to store parts on-site. “We basically started busting at the… Read more »
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Envia bungles battery breakthrough as former CEO sues and GM jumps ship
Back in 2012, battery startup Envia was the toast of Silicon Valley. Its innovative battery technology had achieved the highest energy density ever recorded for a lithium-ion cell – a breakthrough that could halve the costs of EV batteries – and the company already had a deal to supply cells to GM. Today, the company… Read more »
Look out Elon, GM has got your number
We’re not sure if it’s a David and Goliath epic or a Coyote and Roadrunner farce, but Tesla’s recent run of success has caught GM’s attention in a big way (not for the first time – it was Tesla that inspired Bob Lutz to override the skeptics and produce the Volt). CEO Dan Akerson and… Read more »
GM bulks up its Global Battery Systems Lab
General Motors has greatly increased the size of its Global Battery Systems Laboratory, North America’s largest OEM-owned battery lab. The 85,000-square-foot lab now has 112 pack-level test channels and 120 cell-level test channels. The added space will let the company test batteries and computer controls much faster than before. It took GM about four years… Read more »
GM uses ultrasonic welding to build ELR battery packs
Ultrasonic welding is one of many high-tech manufacturing processes that GM uses to produce its EVs, including the Chevy Volt and the new Cadillac ELR electric luxury coupe. The technique employs a pair of tools called an anvil and horn to apply rapid mechanical vibrations to the battery’s copper and aluminum electrodes. This creates heat… Read more »
GM offers a range of electrified vehicles – but don’t call them hybrids!
When is a hybrid not a hybrid? When it’s made by GM. In a recent blog post, Pam Fletcher, one of GM’s chief engineers, claims to be trying to clear up the confusion about the terms used to describe the various categories of electrified vehicles (and of course, to explain why you want to buy… Read more »
GM and BMW Engineers team up to test SAE Combo Fast Charging
Engineers from GM and BMW have jointly tested several charging stations that use the new SAE Combo standard, charging pre-production versions of the BMW i3 and Chevrolet Spark EV. Equipment suppliers who participated in the testing include ABB, Aker Wade, Eaton and IES. “Our goal with this cooperation was to ensure that DC fast charging… Read more »
GM CEO: next-generation Volt will see big price drop
GM CEO Daniel Akerson was talking green with Fortune’s Geoff Colvin at this week’s Brainstorm Green conference. He talked about the $90 million that GM saves every year in the US from its energy- and waste-saving policies, and took a dig at the politicians, pointing out that no president since Nixon has articulated a national… Read more »
VIDEO: GM begins building Spark EV electric motors in Baltimore
GM claims to be the first US-based automaker to manufacture electric motors and drive units in America, as it began producing these components for the new Chevrolet Spark EV at its Baltimore Operations plant in White Marsh, Maryland. The design of the motors was refined at a pilot facility in Michigan. “The era of using… Read more »
GM to produce next-generation EVs in South Korea
General Motors plans to produce its next generation of electric cars at its Bupyeong, South Korea, plant, as the US automaker increases its investment in the fast-growing vehicle technology. GM Korea head Sergio Rocha told journalists at this week’s Seoul Auto Show that the new model will be designed from the ground up as an… Read more »