GM to plan third electric-vehicle plant in big plug-in bet

General Motors Co. is expected to announce investments in several U.S. plants on Oct. 20, including a move that will make a former Saturn plant in Tennessee its third factory to produce electric models, said people familiar with the matter.

GM plans to announce that it will build the first fully electric Cadillac — the Lyriq crossover sport-utility vehicle — in Spring Hill, Tennessee. As part of the decision, GM will move the Acadia SUV in the future to a plant in Lansing, Michigan, said the people, who asked not to be named because the news is not yet public. GM will invest in other factories as well.

The total investment amount will be significantly more than $1 billion but won’t include adding new jobs. The bigger significance is that the Detroit automaker will have three separate facilities building electric vehicles as it accelerates its shift to battery-powered models.

GM will be making the investments as part of a previously announced plan to produce 20 electric vehicles globally by 2023. The company has said its Ultium battery pack will provide at least 300 miles of range, which is competitive with Tesla Inc.’s plug-in cars and SUVs.

GM’s plant in Lake Orion, Michigan, assembles the Chevrolet Bolt and will make a larger version of the same vehicle starting next year. The automaker said last week its factory straddling Detroit and the city of Hamtramck will make the electric GMC Hummer SUV that it will introduce on television Oct. 20.

With Spring Hill added to the mix to make the Lyriq, it also could also be in line to produce other electric models alongside the Cadillac XT5 and XT6 SUVs, one of the people said.

– By David Welch (Bloomberg)