GM to invest $760 million in EV drive plant

DETROIT, Michigan - General Motors will invest $760 million in its Toledo, Ohio factory to build drive units for electric trucks, its first powertrain facility in the U.S. to supply electrical vehicle production.

GM's six-speed, eight-speed and 10-speed rear wheel drive and nine-speed front-wheel drive transmissions used in a wide variety of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac autos are made at its 2.82 million square foot Toledo transmission plant, which employs 1,500 people.

In August, the U.S. Congress approved financial incentives that encourage automakers to convert their plants to produce parts for electric vehicle models.

GM said that once the plant is converted, it will produce a family of EV drive units that convert electric power from the battery pack to mechanical motion at the wheels. The plant will produce transmission parts, while building drive units simultaneously during GM's EV transition, it added.

Many workers have expressed concerns about the shift to EVs, fearing it would affect current employment in the auto industry.

According to Gerald Johnson, executive vice president of the company, GM is looking for ways to increase electric vehicle capacity beyond its current goal of 1 million electric vehicles in North America by 2025.

In 2021, GM said it would stop selling gas-powered vehicles by 2035, while increasing its EV and autonomous vehicle investments from 2020 through 2025 to $35 billion, a 75 percent increase.

Last month, GM and LG Energy Solution announced that they were considering a site in Indiana for a fourth U.S. battery cell manufacturing plant, costing $2.4 billion.

In July, the U.S. Energy Department said it would loan Ultium $2.5 billion to finance its new lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facilities.