GM, Foxconn To Move Production To Mexico

General Motors and Foxconn are about to announce their plans to move some production to Mexico, the country's deputy economy minister said on Wednesday.

Vidal Llerenas, head of the industry and trade for Mexico's economy ministry, said that the government is currently having discussions with other big firms to determine which products could be manufactured in Mexico, Reuters reported.

GM is also focusing on the development of betterment of electric vehicle battery cells. The automaker is currently working with ForgeNano, a materials science startup, to find novel methods that could enhance the lifetime and performance of EV battery cells.

ForgeNano announced Wednesday an investment of $10 million from GM Ventures, the investment arm of GM. The firm develops Atomic Armor platform technology, which allows for the application of thin coatings to the surface of materials or objects to enhance the underlying substance's performance and durability.

GM and Forge Nano have also signed a strategic partnership agreement to utilize the company's Atomic Armor equipment to coat cathode active materials for GM's EV battery cells to increase performance and lifetime.

"...Forge Nano's Atomic Armor technology has game-changing potential for our battery materials at significant scale. They have already demonstrated the ability to expand cathode capabilities, which is the most expensive battery cell component. This could unlock benefits for customers and the business," said Anirvan Coomer, managing director of GM Ventures.

The investment and partnership by GM came as the automaker dropped the Ultium battery branding as it is moving away from a "single cell, single chemistry, single form factor strategy to more of a multi-cell, multi-supplier, multi-chemistry, multi-form factor strategy for our battery roadmap," Jack Crawley, a GM spokesperson, told TechCrunch.

For the third quarter, GM's EV sales grew 60% year-over-year to 32,095 vehicles. However, growth has not reached the level that the company and its investors were hoping for as it accounted for only 4.9% of 659,601 vehicles delivered in the quarter.