GM to Develop, Build Electric Motors
January 26, 2010
General Motors Co. announced Tuesday it will enhance its ability to develop and build future 
electric vehicles by designing and producing its own electric traction motors, effectively the “engines” that propel fully electric vehicles.
GM says the decision to design and manufacture its own traction motors makes it the first domestic automaker to make the commitment to in-house development. The company says it is investing $246 million in electric motor and electric drive facilities in the U.S.
Tom Stephens, GM vice chairman, global product operations, said in a media event with reporters the company believes committing to developing its own traction motors will save money, improve performance and allow better optimization of the entire electric drivetrain.
“In the future, electric motors might become as important to GM as engines are now,” Stephens said. “By designing and manufacturing electric motors in-house, we can more efficiently use energy from batteries as they evolve, potentially reducing cost and weight – two significant challenges facing batteries today.”
The first GM-developed electric motors will debut in 2013 for hybrid-electric vehicles using the next generation of GM’s Two-mode hybrid transmission for rear-drive vehicle architectures.
“Electric motor innovation supported the first wave of automotive growth a century ago with the electric starter, which eliminated the need for a hand crank, and revolutionized automotive travel for the customer,” said Stephens in a release. “We think the electrification of today’s automobiles will be just as revolutionary and just as beneficial to our customers. Electric motors will play a huge role in that.”
Last August, GM received a $105-million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to fund construction of U.S.-based capabilities for the design and manufacture of electric motors and related electric-drive components. The company confirmed manufacture of the new motors will be in the U.S. at a GM-owned facility.
Many automakers have in the past said they prefer to leave production of electric motors to specialist suppliers, but some, including GM, seem to believe motor design and manufacturing will be a “core” competency vital to production of fully electric vehicles in the future.
Stephens said having such knowledge in-house will enable it to glean more efficiency from batteries, the other main component crucial to improving performance and driving range for electric-only vehicles.
GM also has been working for several years to develop and manufacture its own batteries. In addition to being able to take advantage of lucrative government development incentives, GM clearly believes keeping its hand directly in the supply chain of critical electric-vehicle components will enable it to more directly control cost and potential profitability.
The move presumably also gives more development flexibility, which may become a factor in better differentiating the performance and brand attributes of electrically-driven vehicles. – Bill Visnic, Senior Editor
Photo by GM
GM Design and Validation Engineer Brandon Given checks the status of electric drive tests at the GM Powertrain Engineering Development Center.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:30 AM under GM , News , Technology | Comments (2) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
0 Comments.