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US President Joe Biden opens GM’s Factory ZERO

NCR GM Factory ZERO

General Motors marked a major milestone in its commitment to an all-electric future as US President Joe Biden, International UAW and UAW Local 22 leadership, plant employees and other officials joined together to celebrate the grand opening of the Factory ZERO EV assembly plant.

Production is now set to begin at the former Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, less than two years after GM announced the massive $2.2 billion investment to fully renovate the facility to build a variety of all-electric trucks and SUVs.

“GM’s US manufacturing expertise is key to achieving our all-electric future,” said GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra. “This is a monumental day for the entire GM team. We retooled Factory ZERO with the best, most advanced technology in the world to build the highest quality electric vehicles for our customers.”

The name Factory ZERO reflects the significant role the facility plays in advancing GM’s vision of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. Factory ZERO will be home to the 2022 GMC HUMMER EV Pickup, 2024 GMC HUMMER EV SUV, Chevrolet Silverado EV and the Cruise Origin, an all-electric, self-driving, shared vehicle. When fully operational, Factory ZERO will employ more than 2,200.

All Factory ZERO EVs will be built on GM’s Ultium Platform, the heart of the company’s EV product strategy. The Ultium Platform encompasses a common vehicle architecture and propulsion components like battery cells, modules, packs, drive units, EV motors and integrated power electronics, and is fundamental at plants where EVs are produced.

“To meet our ambitious EV transition, GM’s North American EV vehicle assembly capacity will reach 20% by 2025, and then 50% by 2030,” said Gerald Johnson, GM’s executive vice president of Global Manufacturing and Sustainability. “Factory ZERO serves as a model for transitions that will take place at other factories around the world in the coming years.”

“Our people are GM’s true competitive advantage — an advantage you simply can’t buy or quickly build,” added Johnson. “At Factory ZERO, we are building on that experience with the training that will deliver EV and AV launch success with safety, quality and speed while continuing to drive down cost per unit.”

As an EV assembly plant, Factory ZERO plays a direct role in GM’s commitment to eliminate emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035 and become carbon neutral in its global products and operations by 2040. Factory ZERO serves as a real-world proof point for GM’s commitment to running its business in a sustainable manner, and is showcasing its manufacturing leadership capability and readiness for what will be a fundamental shift in mobility as the company transitions to an all-electric future.

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