Second Electric Chevrolet Coming to Michigan

That didn’t take long, did it? In a Friday morning announcement, General Motors said it plans to bring a second electric product to the Orion Assembly plant in suburban Detroit, home to the Chevrolet Bolt.

Forget Buick and Cadillac, too. This Bolt-based product is destined to carry the bowtie badge.

Details of the upcoming model are thin. GM would only refer to the “new Chevrolet electric vehicle” as a model “designed and engineered off an advanced version of the current award-winning Bolt EV architecture.”

Product details and timing will have to wait, the automaker said. The product addition, greased by $300 million from GM coffers, will add 400 jobs to the Orion facility. Orion current employs 880 hourly and 130 salaried employees.

“This new Chevrolet electric vehicle is another positive step toward our commitment to an all-electric future,” said GM CEO Mary Barra in a statement. “GM will continue to invest in our U.S. operations where we see opportunities for growth.”

Media reports late last night suggested the model was originally slated for Chinese production, but ongoing trade tensions (and talks) put the kibosh on the plan. While GM didn’t mention China, it did admit the model had been “slated for production outside of the U.S.”

“Moving production to a U.S. manufacturing plant supports the rules of origin provisions in the proposed United States, Mexico and Canada Agreement,” GM stated.

It’s easy to see the move as a ploy to lower political pressure on the company in the United States. After mothballing Lordstown Assembly and placing Detroit-Hamtramck’s post-January 2020 future in doubt, GM saw no shortage of backlash, not the least of which came from President Donald Trump. GM took pains to mention new opportunities for displaced workers in its media release.

“In addition to the job growth at the Orion plant, GM has job opportunities at several other U.S. manufacturing plants for virtually all U.S. hourly employees impacted by the recent announcement of unallocated plants,” the company stated. Odd that the announcement comes with no timeline attached…

As for the mystery Chevrolet model — you’re all thinking it’s a crossover, and so are we. No other bodystyle makes sense for a new EV. Even if the Bolt’s battery pack remains untouched, the hatchback’s 238 miles of range should keep a heavier, less aerodynamic crossover in the industry-acceptable 200-plus mile zone.

[Image: General Motors]