The GM Subsystem Manufacturing facility in suburban Detroit will be the first high-volume automotive lithium-ion battery manufacturing site in the U.S.
General Motors Corp. plans to have the capacity to build as many as 70,000 battery packs at its new battery assembly plant outside of Detroit.
Fritz Henderson, GM president and chief executive officer, said GM’s plans call for not only using the lithium ion battery packs in the Volt but also in other vehicles.
“We will start hiring relatively soon,” he said after unveiling GM’s plans for the renovated 160,000-square-foot space at I-75 and King Road in Brownstown Township. Henderson said GM’s timetable calls for prototype production to start the first part of 2010. Thus, GM is prepared to begin the hiring process, he said.
The plant could eventually operate on three production shifts, building as many as 70,000 battery packs.
“Developing and producing advanced batteries is a key step in GM’s journey to become the leader in electric vehicles,” Henderson said. “The state-of-the-art battery manufacturing site reinforces our commitment to achieve the goal and to deliver clean fuel-efficient vehicles to our customers,” he said.
Henderson said the Volt will have a significant amount of Michigan content, including the gasoline engine that will drive the Volt’s generator, which will serve to extend the range of the battery-powered vehicle.
However, GM has killed plans for building a new separate engine plant in Flint for the Volt’s motor. “We decided to do the logical thing and we are going to put the engine plant into an existing building. It didn’t make any sense for us to erect a brand-spanking new building next to a relatively brand-spanking new empty building,” Henderson said.
Henderson also defended his statement earlier this week that the Volt will get 230 miles per gallon. How about US? Consumer Reports called the claim and “the exaggeration of the century.”
“We were very meticulous about following the proposed standard,” he said. “We’re quite confident the label for the city will be at least 230 miles per gallon and the composite will at least be triple digits,” Henderson said.
“What we’re very confident in is the 40 miles in (battery) range. If the consumers drivers less than 40 miles per day and recharges at night, they won’t use any gas. In the state of Michigan it’s 40 cents to recharge the battery fully every night. It’s a very low-cost operation. That we know. We didn’t just pull that number out of the air,” he said.
Gary Cowger, GM group executive for manufacturing said GM had studied several other manufacturing operations in the consumer electronics business to gain an understanding of what was required to build the battery packs. However, with the exception of specialized battery machinery and equipment, GM is reusing equipment from other GM facilities, said Cowger.
He also said GM was looking at ways to neutralize the environmental impact of both the new battery plant and the Detroit assembly plant where the Volt will be assembled next year. In addition, GM is considering using solar panels to help power Brownstown and Hamtramck plants, Cowger said.