General Motors have today announced their strategic partnership with LG Corp. The Korean’s bring to the table a not inconsiderate investment of some $250 million for their LG Electronics providing them with an engineering and manufacturing facility in Incheon, Korea, to support the component development and manufacturing for Bolt EV components.
While GM will take care of the Bolt’s design, interior fit and finish and actual electric motive powertrain, the batteries, infotainment system will be handled by LG. The Bolt EV concept was first shown at the North American International Auto Show in January this year. Chevrolet confirmed in February that the Bolt EV would go into production at GM’s Orion Township (Mich.) assembly plant in late 2016 and would offer a 200 mile range.
The brief was set and considered that the Bolt had to offer 200-miles range, performance oriented handling and power as well as still be ‘affordable’ and appeal to the average consumer, rather than the high-end expensive market that Tesla had so far proven EVs to be successful in. To achieve this, LG supplied an array of new components and systems for the Chevrolet Bolt EV that includes:
- Electric Drive Motor (built from GM design)
- Power Invertor Module (converts DC power to AC for the drive unit)
- On Board Charger
- Electric Climate Control System Compressor
- Battery Cells and Pack
- High Power Distribution Module (manages the flow of high voltage to various components)
- Battery Heater
- Accessory Power Module (maintains low-voltage power delivery to accessories)
- Power Line Communication Module (manages communication between vehicle and a DC charging station)
- Instrument Cluster
- Infotainment System
Mark Reuss, GM executive vice president of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, said:
“Chevrolet needs to be disruptive in order to maintain our leadership position in electrification. By taking the best of our in-house engineering prowess established with the Chevrolet Volt and Spark EV, and combining the experience of the LG Group, we’re able to transform the concept of the industry’s first long range, affordable EV into reality.”
Woo-jong Lee, president and CEO of the LG Electronics Vehicle Components Co. said:
“Being selected as GM’s EV technology partner positions LG as a key player in next-generation vehicular technologies. The opportunity to work with GM on such game-changing technology is indicative of exactly the type of contributions that traditional tech companies can make in the automotive space.”
Source; Chevrolet
