Common Motors has determined that it’ll ditch the “Ultium,” the identify of its electrical automobile and battery applied sciences mission, after a number of years of utilizing it to indicate issues associated to its improvement of EVs.
Earlier than its Investor Occasion on Tuesday, GM mentioned that it will drop the identify in an announcement, bringing an finish to a number of years of developments which have fallen beneath the moniker:
“As GM continues to broaden its EV enterprise, the corporate is now not branding its electrical automobile structure, battery and cells, or EV elements with the Ultium identify, beginning in North America.”
Make no mistake, the corporate is not ditching its improvement of EVs, batteries, or different applied sciences. All of these issues will nonetheless be developed and stay beneath GM’s enterprise, however the firm noticed it as time to lose the Ultium label for these initiatives.
Why? GM has already shifted its battery technique to include sorts and chemistries exterior 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, instructed The Data earlier this week that it’s hoping to simplify its battery technique throughout a number of suppliers to optimize manufacturing and its autos:
“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 automobile.”
It’s additionally no secret that GM has struggled to really get its EV phase shifting to a degree the place it’s comfy. Chevrolet, a GM model, was fourth in general EV market share in the USA 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 keeping with CleanTechnica knowledge.
Though GM has its place on the rostrum, it, like Ford, has really 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 clients are extra fascinated by one of the best of each ICE and EV engines.
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