GM Is Having Trouble Ramping Up EV Production
2024 Cadillac LyriqImage: Cadillac
If you’re in the market for an EV, you might be waiting a bit if you want one made by GM. While EV sales have slowed down and there are a good number available on dealer lots, GM might be the exception. Reuters reports that an executive for the automaker recently admitted that they’re having trouble getting EV production up. The trouble lies with battery production.
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The problem, it seems, is issues with assembling battery modules, according to GM CFO Paul Jacobson. He said as much at a recent J.P. Morgan investor conference. While he didn’t get into specifics, it would also seem that those battery assembly module problems have more to do with a supplier issue, something CEO Mary Barra recently spoke about.
Those problems are affecting GM’s production and output goals for certain models, such as Cadillac’s Lyriq, which didn’t come close to meeting GMs original production estimates.
Jacobson said GM had built more than 1,000 Lyriqs in July — still well below the company’s initial expectations.
GM in early 2022 said it expected to build 25,000 Lyriqs at the company’s Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant last year, but fell far short of that target. In the first six months this year, GM delivered fewer than 2,400 Lyriqs to customers, as it struggled with batteries and other issues.
Whatever is going on, GM needs to figure things out quickly, with more EVs on the horizon. GM recently announced, for example, that the Chevy Blazer EV was on its way to dealers, a vehicle that GM said would be available starting about now. Hopefully, with many more on the way.
