This year, General Motors is looking into increasing electric truck and Cadillac SUV production by over six times the previously planned numbers, as per information shared with suppliers, said a report.
Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra told investors last week that the automaker was planning to increase production of electric vehicles, with the goal to deliver 400,000 units in North America in 2022 and 2023.
Details revealed to suppliers show that GM plans to boost manufacturing of electric trucks and a new battery-powered Cadillac SUV to 46,000 vehicles this year. This is a significant increase over initial plans to build only 7,000 this year.
GM is also expected to restart Chevrolet Bolt production. The Bolt EV production line is currently inactive while GM replaces the batteries in its existing Bolts under a recall.
“As we have said, we have announced battery cell and assembly capacity investments that will give us more than 1 million units of EV capacity in North America by the end of 2025,” GM said in a statement on Tuesday. “We now have teams working to accelerate all of our upcoming EV launches, and our target is to deliver 400,000 EVs in North America over the course of 2022 and 2023.”
GM has instructed electronic Hummer and Chevrolet Silverado truck suppliers to plan to produce 21,000 vehicles this year at its Factory Zero located in Detroit. This is up from the earlier plan to build 3,800 vehicles.
The automaker also has reservations for almost 59,000 GMC Hummer EV pickups and SUVs, Barra said last week. The company holds reservations for over 110,000 electric Chevrolet Silverado pickups due to begin production next year.
For GM‘s Cadillac Lyriq electric SUV suppliers, the manufacturer gave instructions to make 25,000 units this year, a jump from the initial 3,200 vehicles planned.
General Motors is responding to both consumer demand and pressure from its competitor Ford Motor Co., the report said.
Ford has announced plans to increase EV production capacity to 600,000 vehicles per year in 2023. The company started the delivery of electric Transit vans this week, and plans to start delivering electrical F-150 Lightning pickups this spring.
In the meantime, Tesla is preparing to begin production at its second U.S. assembly complex in Texas, and EV startups Rivian Automotive and Lucid Group are also ramping up production.
Isn’t it exciting how General Motors is boosting production of electric trucks and Cadillac SUVs to meet the demand and go greener? With more eco-friendly options on the road, it’s like we’re driving into a sustainable future. Can’t wait to see what’s next from GM!