GM has increased the money it’s earmarking for its combined EV and self-driving investment from 2020 through 2025 to $35 billion. The largest automaker in the US originally planned to pour $20 billion into the endeavor but decided to give it a boost and up it to $27 billion late last year. Now, as CNBC reports, it’s spending even more on efforts to go electric and driverless.

The company will use the additional investment to accelerate the production of its battery and fuel cell technologies. It will build two more battery plants to the US in addition to the two that are already in construction, most likely in an effort to ensure that it doesn’t come across battery shortages as it ramps up its EV production. By having its own battery plants (like Tesla does with its Gigafactories), GM wouldn’t be at the mercy of third-party manufacturing partners in the future. In the past, GM said it plans to have 30 EVs on the market by the end of 2025 and to exclusively sell electric vehicles by 2035.

Read more…