General Motors (NYSE: GM) announced plans to invest $30 million in a
plant that will assemble battery packs for its electric vehicle, the
Chevy Volt.
GM intends to open the facility in Michigan in 2010, according to Ed
Peper, North American vice president of Chevrolet, who made the
announcement at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit.
The plant will assemble lithium-ion battery cells produced by South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd (051910.KS) into 400-pound packs.
GM-volt.com reported that GM plans to convert a facility in southeast
Michigan to assemble the battery packs, as opposed to building a new
facility from the ground up.
The GM plant would be the first such assembly facility in the U.S. It’s
likely that the automoaker sees an opportunity to assemble battery
packs for more than just the Chevy Volt.
GM’s sales dropped 23% in 2008, and the company, which accepted
bailout funds from the federal government to stay afloat, assured
Congress that it would restructure its business to regain
profitability.
In November, premium hybrid-vehicle startup Fisker Automotive, announced that General Motors would supply the gasoline engine to be used in the company’s first vehicle..
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