General Motors will build electric motors.
GM will be investing $246 million USD to produce electric motors in-house with claims that they are the first major U.S manufacturer to do this. GM will build the facility to make the motors at the Baltimore Transmission plant.
The vehicles that will use the motor are not known but GM will use them in the two mode hybrids. This technology is already used on the larger hybrids like the Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Silverado. The new generation of electric motors will be smaller so they can be used in the smaller cars.
Tom Stephens, GM's product vice chairman, said GM chose to keep the production in-house because of its importance. GM believe quality and reliability will improve by doing it internally.
“We have decided that's a core technology,” he said.
Two mode hybrids by GM use internal combustion engines and electric motors to reduce fuel consumption. There are plans for a range of hybrid, electric and fuel-cel vehicles, the most important being the Chevrolet Volt due later this year.
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