General Motors said on Sept. 23 that it will invest $760 million in its Toledo, Ohio, plant to produce electric truck drives. The Toledo plant is GM’s first powertrain plant in the U.S., and it will be converted to produce electric vehicle parts. The 2.82 million square foot (260,000 square meters) Toledo facility is responsible for producing 6-, 8- and 10-speed rear-wheel drive and 9-speed front-wheel-drive transmissions for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brands.
GM said, “After the plant completes its renovation, it will produce electric vehicle drives that are responsible for converting the electricity in the battery pack into mechanical movement on the wheels.” GM also added that the plant will produce electric drive units along with transmission products as the company transitions to electric vehicles.
The U.S. Congress approved major financial incentives for automakers in August of this year, thereby encouraging car companies to convert plants that produce gasoline vehicle parts to produce electric vehicle parts.
The Toledo plant currently employs nearly 1,500 people, and many workers have expressed concern about the transition to electric vehicles and whether the move will affect the number of jobs at the plant.
GM Executive Vice President Gerald Johnson said the company is now looking for ways to boost its electric vehicle production capacity beyond its current goal of producing 1 million electric vehicles in North America by 2025.
GM said last year that its investment in electric and self-driving cars will rise to $35 billion between 2020 and 2025, a 75 percent increase, and that the company plans to stop selling new fuel-powered vehicles by 2035.
Last month, GM and LG New Energy said the companies are considering investing about $2.4 billion in Indiana to build a fourth U.S. cell manufacturing plant for their Ultium battery joint venture. The U.S. Department of Energy said in July that it plans to loan $2.5 billion to the Ultium project to finance the construction of a new lithium cell production facility.
