GM Canada to Make EV Drive Units in St. Catharines
In a move to accelerate the roll-out and deliveries of electric vehicles in Canada and the U.S., General Motors plans to invest at its St. Catharines, Ontario propulsion plant to manufacture more than 400,000 Ultium drive units a year.
GM has not yet detailed the size of the investment, which is subject to completing support agreements with the federal and Ontario governments. It would be expected to support around 500 jobs.
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“This is a time of historic transformation for our industry and with this significant investment, St. Catharines will play a critical role in our EV future,” said Marissa West, president and managing director of GM Canada, reminding everyone that the automaker anticipates to build one million EVs a year in North America by 2025.
“The St. Catharines team produces engines and transmissions for many of GM’s most popular vehicles, including full-size trucks, SUVs and Corvette, and we are very excited to announce our plans to supply critical drive units, as well.”
The drive units built at St. Catharines will be used in GM’s Ultium-based vehicles, meaning they could wind up powering models like the Cadillac LYRIQ, the Chevrolet Silverado EV, Blazer EV and Equinox EV (pictured above), as well as the GMC Sierra EV and Hummer EV.
The new St. Catharines investment builds upon other recent GM Canada investments including a $28 million Renewable Energy Cogeneration project at St. Catharines; Canada’s first large-scale EV plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, now making the BrightDrop Zevo 600; and a new Ultium CAM Cathode Active Materials facility now under construction in Bécancour, Quebec.