GM hints at cheaper electric pickup boasting 350-mile range

General Motors Co. hinted that it’s developing a lower-cost electric pickup truck that could boast a 350-mile range.

The Detroit-based automaker is working to secure a supply of lithium iron phosphate batteries in North America, said Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president in charge of battery strategy. Chinese automakers often use LFP batteries in their EVs due to low costs, making them an ideal candidate to power a more affordable EV pickup.

“We have enough space in our truck platform that, with clever engineering, we can use low-cost LFP batteries to get range over 350 miles," he said Tuesday during an investor presentation. “Our team is actively working to localize supply of LFP."

The effort highlights how Kelty has been working to change the company’s battery strategy since the former Tesla Inc. executive arrived at GM in January. He’s pushing to lower the cost of GM’s current EV lineup, in part by using different chemistries and battery packs designed to better suit each particular model.

Meanwhile, as GM sells more EVs using its current batteries, costs are coming down and the program is losing less money, according to GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson. He said the company’s electric vehicles, which have collectively sold 120,000 through the third quarter this year, will make a profit in the fourth quarter after excluding the up-front investment costs to develop the vehicles, batteries and plants.

GM’s earnings before interest and taxes will see a benefit of $2 billion to $4 billion next year, Jacobson said, which will help the automaker maintain the company’s current profitability levels.

To further reduce battery costs, GM has been in talks with Japan’s TDK Inc. about building a plant in the US that would make LFP batteries with technology licensed from Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. of China, Bloomberg reported in September.

Rival Ford Motor Co.’s F-150 Lightning pickup tops out at about 320 miles of range. GM’s current Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks get more than 490 miles of range running on lithium ion batteries, which are more expensive than LFP.

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