Basic Motors has determined that it’s going to ditch the “Ultium,” the identify of its electrical car and battery applied sciences venture, after a number of years of utilizing it to indicate issues associated to its growth of EVs.
Earlier than its Investor Occasion on Tuesday, GM mentioned that it might drop the identify in a press release, bringing an finish to a number of years of developments which have fallen below the moniker:
“As GM continues to develop its EV enterprise, the corporate is now not branding its electrical car structure, battery and cells, or EV parts with the Ultium identify, beginning in North America.”
Make no mistake, the corporate is not ditching its growth of EVs, batteries, or different applied sciences. All of these issues will nonetheless be developed and stay below GM’s enterprise, however the firm noticed it as time to lose the Ultium label for these tasks.
Why? GM has already shifted its battery technique to include sorts and chemistries outdoors of the Ultium pouch cells. These are produced by LG with nickel, manganese, and cobalt.
It has already put $3 billion right into a battery manufacturing deal for prismatic cells with Samsung SDI, and its VP of Battery, Kurt Kelty, advised The Data earlier this week that it’s hoping to simplify its battery technique throughout a number of suppliers to optimize manufacturing and its automobiles:
“We’re shifting from a single-source, single-form issue, single-chemistry to a multi-chemistry, multi-form issue, multi-supplier technique. What we’re going to do going ahead is absolutely optimize for every car.”
It’s additionally no secret that GM has struggled to really get its EV phase shifting to some extent the place it’s comfy. Chevrolet, a GM model, was fourth in general EV market share in america final yr with 5.6 p.c. Cadillac had 0.8 p.c, GMC had 0.3 p.c.
GM was the third-best-selling EV maker within the U.S. final yr, holding 5.6 p.c of the market. Tesla was first with 59.1 p.c, and Ford was second with 6.5 p.c, in accordance with CleanTechnica information.
Though GM has its place on the rostrum, it, like Ford, has actually struggled to make a substantial dent in Tesla’s dominating market share. Ford determined to prioritize hybrids over EVs in an announcement earlier this yr, shifting its focus as prospects are extra desirous about the most effective of each ICE and EV engines.
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