GM had planned to start production on the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV next year, but on Tuesday the automaker announced that it will "retime the conversion" of Orion Assembly plant in Orion Township to EV truck production and restart the plant in late 2025 instead.
GM said it is delaying production of the Silverado EV and Sierra EV at Orion to better manage its capital investment in EVs and to align the investment with evolving EV demand.
The company said it is delaying production of the Silverado EV and Sierra EV to better manage its investment in electric vehicles and align investments with evolving EV demand.
"We're looking at EV demand and the trendline for EVs is stabilizing," said GM spokesman Kevin Kelly. "It is not rising as fast as originally forecasted."
Despite this delay, the launch of the two models remains unchanged. GM is currently building the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV truck at Factory Zero in Detroit and Hamtramck, along with the GMC Hummer EV pickup, Hummer SUV and Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle. That production will continue, Kelly said, and production of the GMC Sierra EV is on track to begin there sometime next year.
However, GM is not the only automaker currently reducing production of its electric vehicles. Overall, this event shows that automakers continue to face challenges in the transition to electric mobility due to changes in demand, technical improvements, or supply chain issues.
Source: Detroit Free Press