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GM announces $7 billion Michigan factory investment, most going to EVs

GM announced a $7 billion investment in Michigan manufacturing, much of which is earmarked for EV production. Four sites are included, but the key elements are a new battery cell plant in Lansing and the conversion of GM's existing Orion Township facility to expand production of the forthcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV and its GMC Sierra sibling.  GM says it is the largest investment announcement in company history and that it will create 4,000 new jobs. It also says 1,000 jobs will be retained. "We are building on the positive consumer response and reservations for our recent EV launches and debuts, including the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Equinox EV and Chevrolet Silverado EV," said GM CEO Mary Barra.  GM says the Orion expansion and new battery plant will support an increase in full-size electric truck production capacity to 600,000 units. This is in addition to the Factory ZERO facility in Detroit that will also be constructing the electric Silverado and Sierra.  The Orion Township factory current builds the Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV, and will continue to do so during the plant's conversion. GM did not indicate what will happen with the Bolts once that conversion is complete or whether all will continue to be built at Orion. They do not use the Ultium vehicle architecture. GM will build other EV models at three other factories that are under construction or being converted. They are located in Spring Hill, Tennessee, Ingersoll, Ontario, and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. GM says that it will have the ability to produce 1 million electric vehicles by 2025. The Ultium Cells Lansing facility is a $2.6 billion joint investment by GM and LG Energy Solution. GM says it alone will create 1,700 jobs once fully operational by late 2024. It will join two other GM Ultium Cells battery factories currently under construction in the United States, one in Ohio and the other in Tennessee.  Not all of the $7 billion investment will be for EVs. It also announced $510 million of the total will go toward upgrading the Lansing Delta Township Assembly to produce the next-generation Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. Money will also go to upgrading Lansing Grand River Assembly.

2022 GMC Sierra Preview | GM's 'premium truck' is actually now premium

Pros: Quiet and torque-rich Duramax diesel; big touchscreen on most trims; great trailering tech; versatile MultiPro tailgate Cons: Worse ride than most rivals; AT4X priced like a Raptor but doesn't go like a Raptor The 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 is GM’s upmarket half-ton pickup, with a supposed emphasis placed on interior quality and materials rather than bare-bones durability. Supposedly, at least. In reality, the most recent generation hardly lived up to that promise as it showed few upgrades over its Chevy Silverado sibling, which itself possessed a ho-hum, not-really-trying interior clearly overshadowed by Ram and Ford that at least match it in most other respects. It was particularly noticeable when comparing top trim levels. GMC's supposedly premium entry, and especially the Denali, just didn't cut it. That changes in a huge way for 2022. First, thereÂ’s not just one new and massively improved interior, there are two. The SLE, Elevation and SLT once again share their interior design with the Silverado, but that includes a more visually appealing design, better materials, smarter storage and a significant technology upgrade thanks to the standard 13.4-inch touchscreen running the user-friendly Android Automotive OS. The AT4 and Denali trim levels, including the new AT4X and Denali Ultimate, step things up even further with a different dash design and upgraded interior materials. The Ultimate definitely lives up to its name with a characterful and, yes, premium vibe that stands tall against the best of Ford and Ram. Other welcome updates include the option of Super Cruise on top trim levels and a massively more powerful base turbo four-cylinder engine (it produces more torque than the 5.3-liter V8!). Effectively, the 2022 GMC Sierra is now the truck it shouldÂ’ve been since the beginning of this current generation and definitely worth a look – especially if youÂ’re in the market for a premium truck. Now, a bit of housekeeping. While the massively updated model shown here is officially the 2022 GMC Sierra, thereÂ’s a chance you could come across something called the "2022 Sierra Limited.” That was just last year's truck with the 2022 model year stapled to it. There are many reasons for this, but suffice it to say, if you see a Â’22 Sierra Denali with the ugly robot-face dashboard (below right), youÂ’re looking at a Limited. Also, the availability of Super Cruise and other features have been hampered by supply shortages.

GM hard at work on Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra PHEV pickups

Autoweek heard from sources at General Motors and Ford about how each automaker is addressing the dip in EV enthusiasm and sales. At General Motors, AW reports, "plug-in hybrid versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra are headed to market, in a hurry." The sources gave no timeline for when the trucks might appear. GM CEO Mary Barra told analysts during GM's Q4 2023 earnings call, "Let me be clear, GM remains committed to eliminating tailpipe emissions from our light-duty vehicles by 2035, but in the interim, deploying plug-in technology in strategic segments will deliver some of the environmental benefits of EVs as the nation continues to build its charging infrastructure."  It's too soon to predict how the Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV will fare on the market, the Silverado EV Work Truck still the only one available to customers. It might be better for GM if they're not too popular at first, the automaker's cautious EV production ramp-up and recent software setbacks responsible for some still-healthy reservation rolls. Barra said the company plans to build between 200,000 and 300,000 EVs, this year, which would clear that backlog. Heading into the end of February, with the Chevy Bolt out of the picture and additional EV pickup production pushed to 2025, our Spidey senses feel those are optimistic numbers. The Chevy Bolt was the third-best-selling EV in the U.S. last year, at 62,044 units. GM didn't have another vehicle in the top ten. Furthermore, the combined sales of every EV in the top ten after the Bolt — seven models from six manufacturers — is only just over 200,000 units. The Blazer EV and Equinox EV could make it happen, but there's no way Chevy wants to rush those, the Blazer EV still in software purgatory.   The report speaks of collateral damage, GM said to have canceled an electric pickup sized below the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. Automotive News said it saw the truck in January 2023, describing it as a futuristic two-door with a low roof and a 4.5-foot cargo bed. A new full-size van program supposedly got the axe as well, eliminating the plan to put a new Chevy Express and GMC Savana on a Brightdrop EV chassis. Over at Ford, AW says its sources mentioned another canceled midsizer; Ford's apparently stopped working on an EV pickup sized a bit below the Nissan Frontier.