GM to invest $2.2B to create a flagship facility for EV production

The name Factory ZERO speaks quite clearly, the aim is zero-crashes, zero-emissions and zero-congestion future. The plant will be the launchpad for GM’s multi-brand EV strategy. The GMC HUMMER EV pickup and the Cruise Origin, a purpose-built electric, self-driving, shared vehicle, and other GM EVs will be built at the plant with production of the GMC HUMMER EV pickup scheduled to begin in late 2021. “Factory ZERO is the next battleground in the EV race and will be GM’s flagship assembly plant in our journey to an all-electric future,” says Gerald Johnson, GM executive vice president of Global Manufacturing, in a press release. “The electric trucks and SUVs that will be built here will help transform GM and the automotive industry.” The company's USD 2.2 billion investment in the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center are aimed at retooling and upgrades, which will ultimately convert the facility to Factory ZERO. This is the single largest investment in a plant in GM history. Once fully operational, the plant will create more than 2'200 jobs. Both the upcoming GMC HUMMER EV and the Cruise Origin will be built on GM’s Ultium battery platform. Ultium is, according to GM, flexible enough to build a wide range of EVs — cars, trucks and more — and is the heart of the company's future EV lineup. “This manufacturing plant will be the epitome of GM’s vision by sustainably manufacturing electric and shared autonomous vehicles that can help reduce crashes, emissions and congestion,” adds Dane Parker, GM chief sustainability officer.