GM’s Next EV Platform to Launch With LMR Batteries

General Motors said its fourth-generation electric-vehicle platform will launch with lithium-manganese-rich batteries, as the automaker outlined plans to combine the chemistry with new vehicle computing and development systems. The company presented the technology roadmap at its GM Forward event in New York on October 21, 2026. GM said the platform will use LMR cells exclusively at launch, positioning them for vehicles in its highest-volume segments. Executives pointed to small and midsize crossovers as target categories, but GM President Mark Reuss did not identify specific Gen 4 models, prices, driving ranges or launch dates at the event. The company aims to begin commercial production of LMR cells with LG Energy Solution in 2028 at the Ultium Cells plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee. GM says the cells can provide about one-third greater energy density than lithium-iron-phosphate batteries at comparable cost. Those figures are company claims; the reports do not provide independent production testing of the chemistry’s performance or costs. GM also described a centralized computing and electrical architecture intended to consolidate vehicle functions and reduce wiring by 30...