GM shutters US battery assembly near Detroit

General Motors is closing its battery assembly plant in Michigan. The Brownstown Battery Assembly Plant produced battery packs for Cadillac's electric flagship, the Celestiq, as well as electric motors and batteries for the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray.

The Cadillac Celestiq received its batteries from the Brownstown Battery Assembly Plant.

Image: Cadillac

A company spokesperson confirmed the closure to the portal _TechCrunch_. However, it is reportedly unrelated to GM’s electric vehicle strategy. Instead, GM had leased the site – and, according to the spokesperson, the lease agreement was about to expire. Employees and production in Brownstown are now to be relocated to other GM plants. The closure was first reported by _Automotive News_.

What is clear is that, with the second term of US President Donald Trump, the EV business in the USA has developed significantly more slowly than expected. This is also affecting General Motors’ previously adopted electrification plans. Just three weeks ago, for example, it emerged that General Motors now intends to produce significantly fewer units of the new Chevrolet Bolt than originally planned. According to _Reuters_, production is now expected to reach only around 35,000 vehicles by the time the model is phased out in the first quarter of 2027 – instead of the originally planned 150,000. The fact that the new Bolt would have a short market presence has been known since the beginning of the year. GM had positioned the model from the outset as a Limited Run and announced that production would end again in 2027. The significantly lower volume is the new development.

This production cut, along with the now-publicised closure of the battery assembly plant south of Detroit, is one of many examples of GM’s restructuring of its electric vehicle strategy. Following the elimination of the $7,500 US purchase incentive in September 2025, sales of battery-electric vehicles dropped significantly. At the same time, GM has realigned several plants to focus more on internal combustion engine vehicles.

Financially, this signals some turbulence. Since the second quarter of 2025, the company has recorded a total of $10.9 billion in charges related to its electric vehicle business, according to _Reuters_. While GM continues to produce around a dozen EV models, it has repeatedly adjusted its original expansion plans in recent times.