GM's Ultium Batteries
cnbc.com
cnbc.com
I don't know enough to compare to others' with it being proprietary and using less cobolt perhaps making it significant for GM.
Tesla has vehicles selling today with batteries from 4 different battery makers (Panasonic, LG, CATL and Tesla). In addition they use a multitude of different cell types, 2170, 4680, 18650 and some prismatic as well. That is what you need to be able to handle if are the largest consumer of batteries on the plant.
GM basically makes zero BEV right now and they will slowly start with these Ultium batteries over the next couple years. Essentially they way, way behind. And of course they don't even have plans to make their own cells the way Tesla did.
BYD and VW are far more real in terms of competition.
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/blog_attachments/g...
The first page tells you everything you needed to know. "It always seems impossible until it's done."
And of course GM/Ford and others would simply let suppliers take car of that. Ford last CEO less then 2 years ago said things like 'there is no need to invest in battery factories, we can just buy them on the open market'. Of course since then the new CEO made a major deal with SK.
- EV1 was really a prototype.
- The Volt was a transition vehicle but it cost too much to build in volumes.
- They are selling 2 versions on the Bolt platform. The standard Bolt and the EUV.
- GM started selling small numbers of the Hummer on Ultium last last year.
- The Cadillac Lyriq began shipping to customers last month.
Next year, they have 3 models scheduled to launch: Silverado pickup, Blazer CUV, and the much less expensive Equinox. This battery plant is the first of 3 that they are building in the US.
They had to mostly halt Bolt production and for the last 6 month have produce very few EVs. I didn't say GM has never ever made an EV before.
But just go threw why saying 4th EV platform makes no sense.
EV1 wasn't a platform, and it wasn't even Li-Ion. It was just a low volume compliance car. It really wasn't a prototype except looking at it in retrospect.
The Volt is PHEV and can hardly be-considered an iteration of a BEV platform. Sure it gave them some experience with electrics but that is very different from a platform.
The Bolt was essentially LG conversion. LG did everything from cells, batteries, electronics including the 'infotainment' system. It really wasn't an EV platform as traditionally understood.
The Ultium is the first of what we might consider an actual BEV platform for GM.
And again non of that touches my central argument, they are miles behind Tesla. I don't think that is a remotely controversial thing to say to anybody interest in BEV.