New Ultium battery system underpins GM's EV future

General Motors in March gave media, investors and key dealers the first look at the electric-vehicle (EV) onslaught it is readying for production, along with related propulsion, battery and charging technologies. Staged at the company's Technical Center in Warren, Mich., with engineers and designers as presenters, GM's unprecedented vehicle and technology unveiling was the largest single aggregation of new EVs any OEM has yet revealed at one time.

The company revealed 11 battery EVs, including CUVs and SUVs for Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac; a long-wheelbase Cadillac “flagship” sedan; a Hummer EV pickup and SUV to be sold under the GMC brand and a Cruise self-driving shuttle. All were shown in late-prototype form under a “no photography” mandate. It was a powerful underscore of GM's wide-scope plan to industrialize its battery-electric vehicle future.