Tesla’s new Cybertruck seems to be turning a lot of heads as it cruises down the lanes. And other companies, specially legacy automakers, want in on the action.
General Motors, in association with LG Chem is looking to invest $2.3 billion in developing a plant to mass produce battery cells for its electric vehicles. The company is also looking to launch a new battery powered truck in 2021 (so original). General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced this on Thursday.
The two companies are planning to invest this sum in building an assembly plant on a greenfield manufacturing site in the Lordstown area of Northeast Ohio. The plant will provide 1100 jobs and it’s construction could begin by mid 2020.
The two companies have been working together from quite some time now. LG chem has been the lithum ion and electronics supplier for the automobile company for at least a decade now. The two companies have been working together from 2009. According to Barra, this joint venture would shake up the electrical automobile industry and accelerate it’s growth multiple folds.
“The joint venture signing today is more than just a collaboration, it’s the beginning of a great journey,” LG Chem CEO and Vice Chairman Hak-Cheol Shin said during a Thursday morning call with reporters.
On the other side of the bargain, this deal is supposed to skyrocket LG’s battery business which is expected to grow to $25 billion by 2024.
This battery plant is supposed to compete directly against the Tesla plant near Reno, Nevada. At it’s peak, the plant will have an annual capacity of more than 30 gigawatt hours with flexibility for expansion. Tesla and Panasonic are partners in the massive factory that produces electric motors and battery packs. Panasonic makes the cells, which Tesla then uses to make battery packs for its electric vehicles. The company hasn’t declared the actual output of the plant, even though it might be close to 35 gigawatt hours. If all goes well, the GM plant might give stiff competition to Tesla’s.
With Tesla shaking up the automobile industry, more and more companies are looking for sustainable means of productions. GM motors have been producing electric vehicles from some time now but a dedicated plant for battery cell production could be huge for the automobile giant.
