General Motors is getting serious about its future EV products. In a recent announcement, the company is quickly shifting focus on delivering more electric powered vehicles on their new BEV3 platform.
The new BEV3 platform will replace the current EV platform onto which the Chevrolet Bolt EV is built on. The new platform is designed specifically for electric vehicles and will be flexible enough to accommodate subcompact crossover SUVs to full-size SUVs and even pickup trucks. Furthermore, the BEV3 will be configurable to front-wheel-drive, all-wheel-drive and rear-wheel drive with high performance models that can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3 seconds.
But while blistering acceleration is fun and a great selling point, an electric vehicle's range is currently the biggest drawback. The new platform aims to change that with the use of a new type of battery. Called the Ultium, the new battery will have large-format, puch-style cells that can be stacked horizontally or vertically allowing for more flexibility when designing and packaging new vehicles.
The new Ultium batteries will range in capacity from 50 kWh to 200 kWh and deliver up to 640 km, or more, of usable range on a single charge. Most vehicles will utilize a 400 Volt battery pack that can be charged via a 200 kW DC fast charger. But some trucks and possibly full-size SUVs using the Ultium batteries will use an 800 Volt battery pack and will be able to charge via a 350 kW DC fast charger.
With these new advancements in battery technology, GM hopes to keep costs down to around the $100/kWh mark. The new Ultium batteries use less cobalt, a rare earth metal, as current batteries and General Motors is even willing to license the batteries to their rivals in order to reach their target cost per kWh.
We won't have to wait long to see vehicles that will be using the BEV3 platform and the Ultium batteries. Cadillac plans to unveil their first all-electric crossover called the Lyriq in April 2020, followed by the full reveal of the GMC Hummer EV pickup truck in May 2020, and the Chevrolet Bolt EUV sometime later.
Eagle Ridge GM – Coquitlam, British Columbia