General Motors (NYSE:GM) North America President, Rory Harvey held a phone conference Monday with other executives concerning the launch of new electric vehicles. Harvey stated during the call that GM is coming "up to speed on battery capacity and building momentum and I anticipate a lot more EVs being built in the second half of this year than the first half of this year.”
The GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV, along with the Cadillac Lyriqs, which utilize GM's innovative Ultium propulsion system, have been slowly dribbling out of the factories, despite GM's claims of having full order banks.
After EV sales reached over 20K for the first time in a three-month period in Q1 2023, GM’s momentum slipped in the second quarter.
In the initial half of this year, Factory Zero, situated on the Detroit-Hamtramck border, produced 49 Hummer EV pickups, marking a decrease from the 371 pickups delivered in the corresponding period of 2022.
GM’s CEO, Mary Barra, explained during a recent interview that battery production was the bottleneck holding them back. She said as battery capacity comes online, “it will be dramatically different next year.”
“What we’ve been looking at is building the momentum and capability in terms of getting the battery modules," said Harvey. "That has always been a ramp up. If you look at supply challenges outside of that, there is nothing that leaps off the page”.
GM gets the battery cells from Ultium Cells LLC in northeast Ohio, a battery plant it just opened last year as part of a joint venture with LG Energy Solution Ltd (KS:373220).
Shares of GM are up 0.55% in afternoon trading on Tuesday.