GM Unveils Modular Ultium Motor Family
[Sept. 17, 2020]
General Motors unveiled the next step in the development of its Ultium powertrain family. This week it showed five drive units powered by three drive motors. The configurations are designed to work in front-drive, rear-drive, all-wheel-drive, truck/SUV, and passenger car applications. This announcement dovetails on its announcement of a wireless battery management system (BMS) developed in conjunction with Analog Devices.
The creation of these different configurations and packaging shows GM’s seriousness about its electrification efforts. Obviously, no Ultium-powered vehicles are yet on the road, but if GM’s efforts were merely symbolic, I doubt they’d go to the trouble of developing three motors and five drivetrain units.
For months, GM has been teasing an extensive upcoming EV lineup utilizing Ultium components.
Where does this leave GM in the greater scheme of the EV universe? I would say a strong third at this specific point in time. It goes without saying that Tesla is the current on-the-road EV volume leader. While Tesla can be legitimately critiqued and criticized for its “fail fast” approach to using customers as beta testers, and its sometimes slapdash approach to product quality, they’re currently well in the lead in terms of EV sales volumes.
I would put Volkswagen (Group) in second place with its ramp-up on the ID.3, and the imminent arrival of the ID.4, and the technological tour-de-force of the Porsche Taycan. Despite some tone-deaf pronouncements of ICE development for “a very long time” by Audi CEO Markus Duesmann, Audi is progressively introducing new variants of the e-tron each year, with several models already on the road, and some about to be “wheels-on-road” within the next six months to a year.
With its series of announcements and unveilings, GM is certainly positioning itself as a future leader in the EV space. Aside from some third-party partnerships, and an internal commitment to charge point availability, the company has been somewhat non-committal to charging infrastructure development. While it’s understandable why the company doesn’t want to get bogged down in the minutiae of building permits, construction management and planning, etc., it is a bit of a gamble to rely on third-parties to take care of the infrastructure portion of the equation.
Two months out from the presidential election, the environment for EVs could change dramatically under a Biden administration, and government funds for EV charging infrastructure could make GM’s arms-length approach a non-issue. But if it’s four more years of Trump and his fossil fuel-friendly policies, that could spell additional headwind to EV adoption.
And as I’ve touched on in past posts, GM’s biggest obstacle could come from its dealer network, especially in non-coastal, non-urban regions where pickup trucks and SUVs are the dealers’ bread and butter, and EVs are seen as a fringe distraction from their main business, or worse yet, as an existential threat to it. Certainly, a revived Hummer brand with 1,000 hp trucks and SUVs could be a powerful mind-changer, but truck buyers are often the most resistant to change. Ford proved minds and sales trends could be changed with the EcoBoost in the F-150, but unless dealers get on board with their enthusiasm for EVs, it could be an uphill battle at the dealer level.
I’m all for GM being successful with its Ultium initiative, and eventually spreading some of that love to the aftermarket and restomod community. And this is exciting stuff making headlines now. But we’ll see if GM can retain the public’s attention and enthusiasm with high-volume Ultium-based production models being two to three years out.
(Images courtesy General Motors)
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