General Motors drops ‘Ultium’ name for batteries, technology amid electric vehicle revolution | Real Time Headlines

Detroit- General Motors The company will drop the “Ultium” name for its EV batteries and supporting technology after years of promoting the brand as it reconsiders its electric vehicle and battery businesses.

The Detroit automaker confirmed the shift Tuesday ahead of an investor event where GM is expected to discuss the change.

The event is also expected to be used to promote Company flexibility Produces traditional internal combustion engine vehicles and electric vehicles. Its commitment to electric vehicles comes at a great time Adoption is slower than expected On an electric car.

The change comes after General Motors spent billions of dollars developing in-house “Ultium” batteries and technology, which the automaker has previously touted as “revolutionary” and the ultimate technology that can build a profitable electric vehicle business.

The company said the batteries and technology will remain, but the “Ultium” name will only remain in production operations For example, its “Ultium Cells” Established a joint venture factory with LG Energy Solution.

“As General Motors continues to expand its electric vehicle business, starting in North America, the company will no longer brand its electric vehicle architecture, batteries and cells or electric vehicle parts under the Ultium name,” the company said in a statement.

General Motors has been rethinking its electric vehicle battery strategy as market conditions change and new outside executives come on board, including Tesla JP Clausen, a veteran who now heads GM’s manufacturing division, and Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of batteries.

General Motors’ electric vehicle sales are growing, but not at the pace the company wants. The automaker reports annual growth of about 60% Increase in electric vehicles Sales in the third quarter were approximately 32,100 units. Still, electric vehicles accounted for just 4.9% of the company’s total third-quarter sales.

General Motors has begun moving away from the nickel-manganese-cobalt Ultium pouch batteries it initially produced in partnership with LG in favor of other battery types and chemistries.

General Motors earlier this year Announced a deal worth more than $3 billion with South Korea’s LG rival Samsung SDI to produce hard-can batteries (ie, prismatic batteries).

“We are moving from a single source, single form factor, single chemical to a multi-chemical, multi-form factor, multi-supplier strategy,” Kelty told us information in a report released Monday. “What we’re going to do next is really optimize it for each vehicle.”

After spending millions of dollars on marketing and advertising, the automaker is turning to this optimization strategy, Including consecutive years of star-studded Super Bowl commercials Ultium will be available in vehicles not yet available to customers in 2021 and 2022.

GM is rethinking other areas as well. Last month, Rory Harvey, GM’s president of global markets including North America, Confirmed to CNBC The company is completely rethinking its plans to build a second all-electric vehicle factory in Orion, Michigan—from production to the entire supply chain.

“We always learn lessons. We’re always learning,” he said last month. “The reason why we’re doing what we’re doing with Orion is if you look at the initial gradient of electric vehicle adoption, there’s no question that it was a little bit more aggressive, both in the industry and from our perspective, than it is now. sex.

“This allows us to pause, refocus, and say what’s right for today’s customer needs?”

General Motors currently has a factory in the United States dedicated to producing electric vehicles, called Factory Zero, located in Detroit. The Orion plant was expected to become a second plant by the end of 2024, but the company has delayed those plans by at least a year.