GM details new electric vehicles, lower-cost battery

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(Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N) Chief Executive Mary Barra is set to tell investors on Wednesday about the automaker’s plans to launch a new family of electric vehicles in 2021 with batteries costing about 30 percent less than those used on the current Chevrolet Bolt.

The No. 1 U.S. automaker is developing an all-new electric vehicle platform that will accommodate multiple sizes and segments, to be sold by different GM brands in the United States and China, it said in a presentation before Barra’s remarks at the Barclays Global Automotive Conference in New York.

Barra’s presentation adds new details to what was known about GM’s aggressive electrification strategy.

GM also plans to introduce two new battery-powered crossover vehicles that will share basic components with the Chevrolet Bolt, according to the presentation.

The company aims to cut the cost of its lithium-ion batteries from $145 per kilowatt-hour to less than $100 per kilowatt-hour, which would bring the overall cost of electric vehicles much closer to comparable gasoline-engine models.

GM’s shares were down 1.7 percent to $42.26 in mid-morning trade.