General Motors and LG Group agree to co-develop electric vehicles

Lately we have heard about companies partnering to combat mandated efficiency rules, and yesterday another agreement was announced, this time between General Motors and LG Group with the stated goal to jointly design and engineer electric vehicles.

This is the second agreement between GM and a battery supplier reported in recent weeks. Earlier in August, GM similarly announced a large but unspecified deal with A123 Systems.

The GM-LG news also follows on the heels of yesterday’s report of other American-owned automakers’ partnerships or desired collaborations to share the load in the rapidly changing automotive industry climate.

General Motors Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson and Juno Cho, president and COO of LG Corp sign an agreement to collaborate on the design and creation of new electric vehicles yet to be disclosed.

As GM-Volt readers know, LG Chem is the battery supplier for the Volt and Ampera, but that was just the beginning between the two companies, GM said.

“The success of the extended-range propulsion system in the Volt and Ampera led to exploring other collaborations in the electrification of the automobile,” GM said. “Teams of LG and GM engineers will work on key components, as well as vehicle structures and architectures.”

GM said a definitive agreement was signed Wednesday and described it as win-win. GM gets “LG’s proven expertise” and LG gets a feather in its cap by widening its portfolio as a solutions provider.

“Many solutions for tomorrow’s transportation needs may be available more quickly by building on our partnership strategy,” said GM Vice Chairman Steve Girsky. ”Consumers benefit by getting the latest fuel-saving technology faster if we work with the best suppliers and we save time and money in the development process.”

No money has yet changed hands in relation to this partnership, GM said.

The company is also staying mum about specific vehicles that will be born from this new agreement, saying only that more will be announced closer to market readiness.

Speaking of which, the partnership is expected to augment GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson’s commitment to stay ahead of competitors in the yet nascent, but rapidly expanding electric vehicle development.

Akerson has also said he would like to lower the Volt’s cost both through efficiencies, and better supplier pricing due to economies of scale.

In making its announcement this week, GM noted this is not the first time LG and GM have collaborated to build a vehicle.

Last year the two companies worked together to build a demonstration fleet of electric Chevy Cruzes. These were used during the G20 summit in Seoul as official vehicles, and GM is still “market testing” these BEVS, GM said.

World conditions are demanding world solutions and cooperation as GM also observed.

“Accelerating the pace of roadworthy technology is more important than ever with the announcement of a number of more stringent emission and fuel consumption regulations around the world, including the recent agreement calling for a U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) of 54.5 mpg (23.2km/l) by the end of the 2025 model year,” GM said. “Electric vehicles, which have no tailpipe emissions and require no gasoline, are expected to play a major role in reaching the CAFE goal.”

As we noted yesterday regarding a Ford-Toyota deal, automakers are not only concerned with domestic mandates in the U.S., but also with creating global platforms and solutions to minimize barriers to acceptance in other markets.

But at this point, GM would not state where the LG/GM vehicles will be sold, and merely said products resulting from the partnership will be marketed in many countries.

We asked GM also if these new vehicles would include eAssist, BEVS, EREVs, hybrids, or what? While GM has said it and LG would develop “electric vehicles” suggesting BEVs or EREVs, GM would not answer this question.

“We cannot give any information on specific technologies,” said GM spokesman Kevin M. Kelly, “nor on which markets the vehicles will be sold in at this time.”

Source: GM-Volt.com