The chairman and CEO of General Motors, Rick Wagoner:

Hey, good morning and welcome back everyone, appreciate you joining us again today. Yesterday we offered a rolling review of today’s General Motors, 17 cars, crossovers and concepts that mark the start of GM’s second century. We started with a production version of the Chevy volt and ended with the Cadillac Converge concept, two vehicles that really symbolize a new General Motors, and the kind of technology and innovation to which we are committed. The volt is powered by our exclusive Volttech electric propulsion system. When running off its battery the Volt operates as a traditional battery electric vehicle with a driving of up to 40 miles which is more than the average daily commute for 3/4 of Americans. And when the driver of a volt needs to go beyond the 40 miles, a small engine generator kicks in to generate enough electricity to keep the car going for hundreds of additional miles. Now the key to getting the Chevy Volt, our plugged in Saturn Vue, a concept like the Converge, and other electrically driven vehicles, in to the hands of consumers, is advanced lithium ion battery technology. Two years ago we set ourselves a tough challenge to develop a battery that some people said at the time couldn’t be built. Well we went to work with some of the best battery cell manufacturers, and battery pack integrators from around the world and just over a year ago we began testing two different battery solutions for the Volt, since then we’ve run prototype packs through countless tests and our confidence in their ability to deliver the required power, range, safety and durability has grown dramatically. In the process we’ve determined that the design, development and production of advanced batteries must be a core competency for general motors and we’ve been rapidly building our own capability and resources to support this important strategic direction. What you see here is the full size model of a lithium ion battery pack, the one that will actually power the Chevy Volt beginnig late next year. And this morning I’m pleased to announce that GM will manufacture the battery pack, right hear in the United States. Yes [applause], thank you. Yes General Motors is getting back in the battery business. Our facility will be the first lithium ion battery manufacturing plant, operated by a major auto maker in the US. And of course it will create new green jobs. This is a further demonstration of our commitment to the electrification of the automobile and the Chevy Volt. A commitment which now totals over 1bn$.
Subject to final negotiation with state and local authorities we are planning to locate the battery manufacturing site right here in michigan [applause]. we’ll provide more details as we move through the process but let me take this opportunity to recognize michigan governor jennifer granhole, and the michigan house and senate leadership for their key roles in passing new legislation that provides state insentives for battery development in michigan. I’d like to recognize michigan senate majority leader mike biship, speaker of the house of rep Andy Dylan, and Jim Appolito of Michigan Economic Development Corporation all of which are here with us today. Thank you very much for your leadership, we wouldn’t be here without you. I’m also pleased to announce today that after literally thousands of hours of evaluation and testing we’ve selected LG chem to supply the lithium ion cells for the volt battery pack. Our selection of LG chem was based on their demonstrated track record of performance, production readiness, efficiency, durability and exceptional quality. the CEO of LG chem Peter Kim is here with us, Mr . Kim will you please stand? [applause.] Really appreciate your support and great to have you with us for today’s announcement. Our announcements this morning are part of our comprehensive advanced battery strategy for GM, that is expanding along two primary pathways. First we’re identifying core competencies, such as battery research, development and manufacturing and integrating these fundamental into our General Motors product development and manufacturing operations. we believe over time this will become a significant competitive advantage for us in this important new technology. second we are building a roster our battery suppliers and academic experts around the world. and leveraging their specialized abilities to develop battery chemistries and cell designs. in support of these two pathways and our overall battery strategy, we’re also pleased to make several additional announcements this morning. First GM will open the largest automotive battery laboratory in the us later this year, with a footprint of about 31.000 square feet, roughly the size of the Chevy display area that you see here at this year?s show. This new lab will accelerate our development of advanced battery technology and leave GM’s network of existing battery labs in the US and Germany. Our intention, again subject to negotiation with state and local government authorities, is to locate this new lab in the state of Michigan. We’ll provide more details as we move through that process. Second we’ll continue to ramp up our in-house battery development capability. By adding this year, further to our roster of hybrid electric vehicles and advanced battery engineers, researchers and technicians including more than 200 dedicated to advanced battery technologies alone. Third, in addition to our partnership with LG chem, we will continue to grow and establish a robust line-up of battery suppliers for cell development and manufacturing, including companies such as A123systems and Hitachi as well as for battery integration with Compact Power and Cobasys. And finally this morning I’d like to announce that GM will form a partnership with the university of Michigan to establish a new advanced battery lab at its Ann Arbor campus, including the creation of a specialized curriculum to develop future automotive battery engineers within the university’s prestigious college of engineering. With us today is the director of the university of Michigan’s energy systems engineering program, and a huge proponent of advanced battery development, Dr. Anne Marie Sastri. Dr. Sastri will you please stand? [applause]. Really great to have you and your leadership as part of our dynamic battery team. Dr. Sastri will be available to answer questions immediately following our press conference. So taken together today’s announcements are a next important step in GM’s commitment to the electrification of the automobile. The fact they involve close collaboration with all the key players, governments, suppliers and universities is an example of the kind of team work that we believe is necessary for the advancement of this important technology. we look forward to working closely with the new administration as well as other partners to accelerate the electrification of the automobile. With that I’d like to invite GM vice chairman Bob Lutz, LG Chem CEO Peter Kim and university of Michigan professor Ann Marie Sastri to join me on stage, I’d also like to invite our friends from the media to join us, we’ll be happy to answer your questions about GM’s advanced battery strategy. Thank you very much.

I am sure Tesla choose the battery manufacture they did for the same reasons GM choose theirs. Energy level and heat dissipation.

Top Gear seem to have it in for Tesla and EVs I reckon.

Thanks for the links and fo rkeeping me a fan of the Volt (BTW perhaps I could have the Converj as my second car).

Regards,

JC