Overview
- GM announced the fourth‑generation EV platform at its GM Forward event in New York on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and confirmed the design will use only lithium‑manganese‑rich (LMR) prismatic cells.
- The company says Gen‑4 reduces vehicle mass by about 15 percent, raises efficiency by about 20 percent, requires roughly 20 percent less battery capacity and cuts wiring by about 30 percent.
- GM and its Ultium Cells joint venture claim LMR offers higher energy density than LFP and lower reliance on nickel and cobalt than high‑nickel chemistries, which the company says will lower pack cost if manufacturing yields match expectations.
- GM used massive virtual simulation and AI to test more than 300,000 LMR pack configurations—about 300 million CPU hours—to accelerate validation and shorten development timelines.
- Ultium Cells will convert the Spring Hill, Tennessee plant to mass‑produce prismatic LMR cells and GM targets first LMR‑equipped vehicles and the new centralized electrical/compute architecture in 2028, with specific nameplates and real‑world performance still to be confirmed.