Picture: Chevrolet
Chevrolet is gearing up for its next-gen EVs as it prepares to transform to an all-electric future. The foundation of this transformation will be built on the Ultium Platform, which is a huge leap for Chevrolet engineering and will power a wide range of vehicles for years to come.
The company has said that their ultimate goal is to provide an electric vehicle to every customer that wants one. Customers have seen widespread evolution of electric vehicles, from faster cars to faster charging and therefore, the demand for these EVs is higher than ever.
The Ultium Platform is designed to be flexible and modular, and the architecture is said to be able to produce any vehicle that GM makes into an electric model. The cells inside the battery modules can be arranged vertically or horizontally to integrate any design. Vertically for trucks and SUVs, or horizontally for cars and crossovers.
The Ultium platform has been described by the company as a “big leap forward for Chevrolet” as this will power the next generation of electric vehicles, including their all-new Silverado EV coming in autumn 2023.
This type of flexibility will hopefully allow Chevrolet to make a wide range of models across multiple vehicle types. They will be able to offer rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, or all-wheel drive depending on the vehicle.
Chevrolet battery engineer Andy Oury has said: “Chevrolet will see cost reductions due to economies of scale at every part of the supply chain, including raw materials and refining. We’re building lots of Ultium components and it makes good business sense for us and our suppliers.”
Ultium batteries are also to be built at Chevrolet’s plants in Michigan, Ohio, and Tennesse to help improve how much charge a vehicle can hold, boosting its range and also reducing charging time. The plants will collectively be open by the end of 2024 and will produce 100 gigawatt-hours’ worth of batteries every year.
The upcoming Silverado EV is set to offer a GM-estimated 400-mile range on a full charge, with batteries that are at a lower cost and charge almost four times faster.
Chevrolets all-electric future looks promising. We cannot wait to see their new upcoming Silverado EV next year and also, the success of their new plants by the end of 2024.
