DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co., as part of a $ 27 billion initiative to match or surpass Tesla Inc. in the electric vehicle industry, is working with “all the best startups” on next-generation EV battery technology while is planning a major boost to the production capacity of its new Ultium battery system, an executive said Monday.
“We’re collaborating with some big companies,” including Honda Motor and LG Chem, on electric vehicles and batteries, said Doug Parks, GM’s executive vice president of global product development. But “we are also looking for emerging companies outside the company to be at the forefront of this learning curve.”
Parks, speaking at an investor conference, said GM continues to establish its relationship with Honda, with which the American automaker is jointly developing several future electric vehicles.
“There’s an opportunity for more,” Parks said. “We could extend this relationship to other segments,” including sharing vehicles and combustion engine platforms with Honda.
GM CEO Mary Barra said nearly a year ago that the automaker had increased its spending budget on electric and automatic vehicles from $ 20 billion to $ 27 billion by 2025.
Parks said much of that $ 7 billion increase is related to spending on additional Ultium battery production capacity, which is expected to occur in Ohio next year in a $ 2.3 billion joint venture. dollars with LG Chem.
With all the electric vehicles GM has planned for North America (about 20 models by 2025), “we will need more capacity” for batteries, Parks said. “So there will be more investment after the initial wave in Ohio.”
Last year, industry leader Tesla sold just under 500,000 electric vehicles worldwide.
Paul Lienert’s report in Detroit; Edited by Matthew Lewis