General Motors is facing battery supply challenges and Ford Motor has dramatically cut prices for its F-150 Lighting pickup in response to weakened demand. Both, however, are committed to expanding their EV programs.
Despite battery supply chain disruptions, Rory Harvey, GM’s president of North America anticipated that the automaker will build a significantly higher number of EVs in the remaining half of the year, following a disappointing second quarter in EV sales. The sales slowdown came as GM focused on developing new EV models on its flexible Ultium platform that is designed to optimize production, once supply chain issues are resolved. The first EV that got off the platform, the GMC Hummer EV, experienced low sales in the first two quarters of the year with an 83% decline compared to 2022’s figures.
EV troubles are mounting up as on July 18th, GM’s CAMI Assembly electric vehicle plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, has reportedly closed for the month unexpectedly due to a battery shortage, according to The London Free Press. Currently, GM only produces Ultium batteries at the Ultium Cells plant in Lordstown, Ohio, with plans to build a second plant in Tennessee in 2024 and a third in Michigan in 2025.
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