Better batteries, app updates for Chev, Cadillac, Hummer EVs

January 14, 2021January 14, 2021 John Carey 1841 Views bolt euv, buick, cadillac, Cadillac Celestiq EV, GM CES 2021, hummer, ultify, Ultium

General Motors’ presentation to the Consumer Electronics Show of 2021 showed off the company’s brand-new logo and some extra snippets about the company’s plans to introduce 30 new EVs globally by 2026.

Normally held annually in Las Vegas, CES this year is an all-digital event. Just ahead of the show’s online opening, GM announced it had redesigned its familiar logo, unchanged since 1964.

GM’s new logo builds on a strong heritage while bringing a more modern and vibrant look to GM’s familiar blue square.

With a little “m” it’s all about readying one of the world’s most traditional car makers into a modern EV powerhouse.

Chevrolet Bolt EUV coming mid-2021

Key to the GM EV onslaught is a broad range of new electric vehicles covering everything from small cars and a Cadillac Celestiq luxury flagship through to a Chevrolet EV pickup truck. Click on the embedded links to learn more about each.

GM also teased its upcoming Chevrolet Bolt EUV – or Electric Utility Vehicle – which will go on sale in American mid-2021. The compact SUV – see the silhoutte image at the top of this article for an idea of what it will look like – will be sold alongside the next Bolt EV.

The Bolt EUV will the first GM electric car to debut Super Cruise, which the company describes as “the world’s first truly hands-free assistance system”. Super Cruise is the latest semi-autonomous system that allows brief periods with hands off the steering wheel, at least where that can be done legally.

EVs in the sky … literally

Former Holden designer Mike Simcoe also revealed a couple of Cadillac concepts that are more fanciful dreams than anything likely to arrive in a showroom anytime soon – even if Simcoe describes it as “a glimpse of what autonomy and Cadillac luxury might look like in the not-too-distant future”.

GM design boss Mike Simcoe and the Cadillac eVTOL electric personal flying pod

One such concept was a single-seat vertical-take-off-and-landing flying passenger pod powered by a 90kWh battery.

Called eVTOL – for electric vertical take-off and landing – the personal pod has four rotors and the air-to-ground and air-to-air communication.

The other was an almost cubic chill space on wheels, again electric.

Cadillac eVTOL electric personal flying pod and Cadillac Halo autonomous pod

Simcoe describes it as part of the “Cadillac Halo portfolio”.

Both belong in the “Don’t hold your breath” category.

Apps for EVs

General Motors’ chief EV officer is ex-Holden man Travis Hester.

He says the new smartphone apps – including MyChevrolet, MyCadillac, MyGMC and MyBuick – will part of the new Ultify suite for EVs.

The MyGMC app is part of the Ultify suite of remote connections and upgrades for upcoming GMC, Hummer, Chevrolet and Cadillac electric cars

Hester says Ultify is the “promise of a more personal EV experience”.

Those apps will allow various remote functionality – a “remote control for your vehicle that will continually evolve and advance over time”.

That includes over-the-air-software updates pioneered by Tesla years ago.

But they will also be key to GM unlocking additional ongoing revenue in future.

“You should expect both ongoing free updates as well as opportunities to purchase premium content and feature upgrades,” says Hester.

New EV platforms

In trying to simplify production and engineering, General Motors is trimming its vast array of architectures and engines.

The shift to EVs is helping that, with just three architectures covering everything from small cars and SUVs through to luxury machines and electric pickup trucks.

The three platforms and flexible drive modules (including electric motors) that will underpin future GM EVs for Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Hummer and Buick

That trio of platforms will provide the basis for the future EVs from Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac.

The new Ultium Drive system includes five interchangeable drive units that can be scaled up or down depending on the power and range requirements and the size of vehicle. It also allows GM to offer front-, rear- or all-wheel drive from the same basic collection of components.

Better Ultium battery packs coming

GM also repeated much of what it has already told us about its Ultium batteries and platform for EVs. They ran through the advantages of the lithium-ion battery pack technology, to be produced in a joint venture with LG Chem, Ultium-based vehicles will use.

Ultium batteries, more energy dense and less costly than existing cells – GM says they hold 60 percent more electricity than its current EV cells – are some way from production. Driving ranges approaching 700km are promised from Ultium tech, as is quick recharging; only 10 minutes to add 140km of range.

Still, GM says its already working on the generation of cells that will replace them. These will be even better, it’s promised.

EV improvement, GM style.

John Carey

Grew up in country NSW, way back when petrol was laced with lead. Has written about cars and the car business for more than 35 years, working full-time and freelance for leading mags, major newspapers and websites in Australia and (sometimes) overseas. Avidly interested in core EV technologies like motors and batteries, and believes the switch to electromobility definitely should be encouraged. Is waiting patiently for someone to make a good and affordable EV that will fit inside his tiny underground garage in northern Italy, where he's lived for the past decade. Likes the BMW i3, but it's just too damned wide...