GM to develop company's first full EV assembly plant

General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant in Michigan will become the company's first such facility fully dedicated to the production of all-electric trucks and SUVs, the automaker said Monday.

GM said it invested $2.2 billion in the project and expects EV production at the plant to begin in late 2021 with the company's first all-electric pickup truck, according to a statement.

"Through this investment, GM is taking a big step forward in making our vision of an all-electric future a reality," GM president Mark Reuss said during a press event at the plant. "Our electric pickup will be the first of multiple electric truck variants we will build at Detroit-Hamtramck over the next few years."

The transition at Detroit-Hamtramck follows GM's continued investments in electric-vehicle production. Since late 2018, the Detroit-based automaker has invested more than $2.5 billion in electric-vehicle initiatives at various plants in the US, the company said.

GM's battery cell-manufacturing joint-venture with LG Chem will supply battery cells for the electric vehicles manufactured at Detroit-Hamtramck.

"The support from the state of Michigan was a key element in making this investment possible," Reuss said. "This investment helps ensure that Michigan will remain at the epicenter of the global automotive industry as we continue our journey to an electrified future."

GM said the plant will be idled for several months beginning at the end of February as the renovations begin.