General Motors will do it drop the Ultium name from modular EV batteries and related components used in all current and planned electric vehicles for the US market, CNBC reported Tuesday.
The hardware will remain the same, but the GM will remain clear the Ultium name except for manufacturing operations such as its Ultium Cells LLC joint venture with LG, according to the report. CNBC cited statements from the automaker made ahead of Tuesday's investor conference where the rebranding is expected to be made official.
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“As GM continues to expand its EV business, the company is no longer branding its electric vehicle structure, battery cells, or EV components with the Ultium name, beginning in North America,” the automaker said in a statement to CNBC.
GM announced the Ultium propulsion strategy in 2020, which is the target to achieve economies of scale in a variety of electric models by building everything from a common battery cell and car family. The idea was intended to translate electronically to the automaker's component allocation strategy that led to internal revs as ubiquitous as the small-block V-8.
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That strategy has been used in vehicles ranging from the six-figure GMC Hummer EV to the $34,995 Chevrolet Equinox EV. But GM now rethinking its EV strategy as sales are growing at a slower pace than the automaker wants.
In July, GM CEO Mary Barra said the automaker was pulling back on its goal of producing one million EVs by 2025. blaming the underdeveloped EV market. In September, Barra said he was surprised that EVs have become political, but said GM is still on track to end the pipeline for electric vehicles by 2035 (a stated “aspiration” of 2021) if customers are ready by then.