General Motors (GM) is closing its Brownstown Battery Assembly plant near Detroit, another sign of the automaker’s changing electric vehicle strategy as it shifts more resources back toward gas-powered vehicles.
The 480,000-square-foot facility, which produced battery packs for the Cadillac Celestiq and electrified components for the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, will be decommissioned by summer 2027 when its lease expires. GM has confirmed the closure, according to Crain’s Detroit Business.
The decision follows several other changes to GM’s battery manufacturing plans. In 2024, the automaker withdrew from a US$2.5 billion (C$3.5 billion) battery factory project in Lansing, Michigan, leaving LG Energy Solution in control. Earlier this year, GM also exited its battery manufacturing partnership with Samsung SDI in Indiana.
The pullback comes as GM adjusts to weaker EV demand and the loss of the US$7,500 (C$10,573) federal EV tax credit, which expired last year.
Brownstown originally opened in 2009 and once employed approximately 300 people. However, production cuts gradually reduced its workforce to fewer than a dozen employees.
The automaker is also reconsidering the future of a separate hydrogen fuel cell facility in Detroit.
That 300,000-square-foot building was originally intended to support a hydrogen partnership between GM and Honda. A related deal with Piston Automotive involved a US$55 million (C$78 million) investment and plans for 150 jobs before the automakers abandoned the initiative over profitability concerns.
GM has since assumed the building’s long-term lease from Piston Automotive and is evaluating alternative uses, although no decision has been made.
The changes come amid a broader restructuring of GM’s electrification investments. While the company continues producing electric vehicles, its latest decisions suggest it is becoming increasingly selective about where it commits manufacturing resources.
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