Shared EV platform architecture key to current and future electric vehicle offerings

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- General Motors' newest electric vehicle is the Chevy Equinox EV.

It wears a somewhat striking design, but its strong suit as an electric is what you can't see. The entire bottom portion of the car is a versatile platform containing the battery module and driveline.

GM named this platform "Ultium" and its development has greatly streamlined the evolution for a new, simpler kind of vehicle after so many years of building much more complex internal combustion-powered cars.

"With electric cars, if they have smart platforms they can create many models from kind of one pool of engineering, the auto industry becomes a better business to be in," said veteran technology expert Brian Cooley.

How flexible are these EV modules with the fitting nickname of "skateboard" due to the way they look with no body on top?

In this case, the GM platform underpins a litany of models already.

The Equinox EV, the Chevy Blazer EV, the Cadillac Lyriq, the Chevy Silverado EV, and the GMC Hummer EV - and more electric models on this platform are on the way.

Here's something interesting.

Honda got a head start on its electric vehicle era for its first two EVs by borrowing the technology.

So GM's platform also underpins both the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX models.

The beauty of a scalable EV platform is that once it's been engineered and developed, it can be used for all kinds of different vehicles of different sizes.

The GM Ultium platform works in everything from the big FedEx electric delivery trucks from sub-brand BrightDrop, to even an upcoming revival of a small EV.

Chevy's first dedicated EV model, the now-discontinued Bolt, will be making a comeback as a smaller, less-expensive alternative to the other Chevrolet EVs in 2025. It will newly be built on the Ultium platform as well.

There's just been a significant hiccup while all this development had been going on. The growth in demand for EVs has leveled off dramatically since this investment of billions got started.

"The real headache for GM and other car makers right now is how to keep their electric efforts on 'hot standby,' without losing their shirt doing so. But not putting them so much into mothballs that they're going to be behind again when EVs get to their, I think, permanent trajectory of consumer demand," noted Cooley.