Magna wins U.S. battery contract for Silverado EVs – Oshawa plant not yet ready for EV production

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Published February 14, 2023 at 2:04 pm

BrightDrop Zero 600 all-electric vans at the CAMI auto assembly facility in Ingersol

Aurora-based auto parts manufacturer Magna International has won the contract to supply battery enclosures for the all-electric Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup.

Silverados – both heavy-duty and light-duty models – are produced at General Motors’ Oshawa Assembly plant but the plant is not yet equipped for electric vehicles.

The Silverado EV will instead be produced at GM’s Factory ZERO, Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center — a facility repurposed and retooled with a $2.2-billion investment devoted to EV production.

Magna already produces the battery enclosures for the GMC Hummer EV. The enclosures for both vehicles will be made at Magna’s plant in St. Clair, Michigan.

Battery enclosures are a critical component for all-electric vehicles like the Silverado EV and include housing for the high-voltage cells, as well as the related electrical components, sensors, and connectors. The enclosures also protect batteries from impact, heat, and water intrusion.

GM unveiled the 754-hp 2024 Chevy Silverado EV at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show and will begin production at the Factory Zero plant this spring.

It is unclear what the Oshawa Assembly plant will be producing in the near future but electric vehicles are already rolling off the assembly line in Ingersol, Ontario (near London) at the CAMI facility.

GM spent more than $2 billion to re-tool and re-open both plants with CAMI re-opening as a producer of all-electric BrightDrop Zevo 600 vans, an historic milestone for EV production in Canada.

2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV

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