GM BT1 platform | |
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![]() GMC Hummer EV, the first vehicle based on the BT1 platform | |
Overview | |
Manufacturer | General Motors |
Production | 2021–present |
Body and chassis | |
Layout | Dual- & triple-motor, all-wheel-drive |
Related | GM BEV3 |
The GM BT1 platform, marketed under Ultium branding, is a dedicated electric vehicle architecture or platform developed by General Motors (GM). It underpins electric full-size pickup trucks and SUVs sold by GM, using battery and motor technology developed under its Ultium program; these are shared with third-generation GM electric vehicles on the BEV3 platform. BT1 is categorized as a skateboard platform.
In October 2019, GM made an agreement with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union to invest US$3 billion in Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly over the next four years, renaming it to "Factory Zero" and converting it to a factory for electric trucks and vans. [1] The UAW's copy of the agreement revealed the "centerpiece" of the investment was a program internally called "Project O" or BT1, which would develop and begin selling a low-volume pickup truck by 2021, aimed at the high end of the market. [2]
The same platform developed for that project, which resulted in the GMC Hummer EV, [3] also would be used for electric versions of full-size General Motors pickup trucks (Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra) and SUVs (Chevrolet Tahoe / Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade). [4]
The BT1 platform is designed for full-size trucks and SUVs which currently use a body-on-frame architecture, while unibody passenger cars and crossover utility vehicles will be based on BEV3; both platforms use Ultium batteries and motors. [5] However, Nichole Kraatz, the GM chief engineer for battery electric trucks, characterized BT1 as "not a unibody and ... not a body-on-frame", as the body has an integral floor, like a unibody, but rests on the battery structure, which also acts as a structural member. [6] This confirmed early speculation published in 2019. [7]
Despite its name suggesting a relation to the T1 platform, [4] BT1 shares no parts with the older internal combustion engine full-size pickup truck and SUV platform. [8]
As implemented for the GMC Hummer EV, BT1 has a stamped and welded steel battery case with 24 modules, totaling 246 kW-hr gross, of which 212 kW-hr are usable; the total weight of the battery alone is 2,800 lb (1,300 kg). [9]
Hummer is a brand of pickups and SUVs first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. Although discontinued in 2010, Hummer returned as a model under GMC in 2020. In 1998, General Motors (GM) purchased the brand name from AM General and marketed three vehicles: the original Hummer H1, based on the military Humvee, as well as the new H2 and H3 models that were based on smaller, civilian-market GM platforms.
GMC is a division of American automotive manufacturer General Motors (GM) for trucks and utility vehicles. GMC currently makes SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, and light-duty trucks. In the past, GMC also produced fire trucks, ambulances, heavy-duty trucks, military vehicles, motorhomes, transit buses, and medium duty trucks.
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The Chevrolet Tahoe, and its badge-engineered GMC Yukon counterpart, are full-size SUVs and other trucks from General Motors, offered since 1994 and 1991, respectively. Since 1982, Chevrolet and GMC sold two different-sized SUVs under their "Blazer" and "Jimmy" nameplates, by introducing the smaller S-10 Blazer and GMC S-15 Jimmy for the 1983 model year, below the full-size Blazer and Jimmy models. This situation lasted into the early 1990s. GMC first rebadged the full-size Jimmy as the "Yukon" in 1991. Chevrolet however waited until 1994, when they rebadged the redesigned mid-size S-10 Blazer the "new Blazer," while renaming the full-size Blazer as the "Tahoe." The name Tahoe refers to the rugged and scenic area surrounding Lake Tahoe in the western United States, and was originally used as a trim level on S-10 models. The name Yukon refers to the Yukon territory of northern Canada.
Body-on-frame, also known as ladder frame construction, is a common motor vehicle construction method, whereby a separate body or coach is mounted on a strong and relatively rigid vehicle frame or chassis that carries the powertrain and to which the wheels and their suspension, brakes, and steering are mounted. While this was the original method of building automobiles, body-on-frame construction is now used mainly for pickup trucks, large SUVs, and heavy trucks.
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Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly, also referred to as Factory Zero and GM Poletown, is a General Motors (GM) automobile assembly plant straddling the border between Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan. It is located about three miles (five km) from GM's corporate headquarters.
The GMT900 is a General Motors full-size pickup and SUV platform used from the 2007 to 2014 model years. The platform was introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, as the replacement for the GMT800 platform. The first GMT900 vehicle introduced was the next-generation Chevrolet Tahoe.
The GMT800 was a General Motors full-size truck platform used from the 1999 through 2006 model years. It is the foundation for the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups; and the derivative GMT820 and GMT830 versions for the Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon and the Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL full-size SUVs, respectively. This platform was the successor to the GMT400 series of C/K pickups and SUVs, and was replaced for 2007 by the GMT900 line.
GMT 360 is a vehicle platform that was manufactured by General Motors from the 2002 and 2009 model years. Designed primarily for SUVs, the GMT360 architecture served as the third generation of mid-size SUVs produced by GM. Directly succeeding its GMT330 predecessor in the United States, GMT360 vehicles based on the platform were sold with their predecessor in Canada and export markets through 2005.
GMT K2XX is an assembly code for a vehicle platform architecture developed by General Motors for its line of full-size trucks and large SUVs that started production with the 2014 model year. The "XX" is a placeholder for the last two digits of the specific assembly code for each model. The platform, which replaced the GMT900 series that had been in production from 2007 to 2013, was introduced in April 2013 for the 2014 Model Year on the trucks, followed by the December 2013 production on the 2015 large SUVs that debuted in February 2014. The GMT K2XX products are being produced at four GM assembly plants: Arlington, Flint, and Fort Wayne in the United States, along with Silao Assembly in Mexico for the crew cab light duty pickups.
The GMC Hummer EV is a line of battery electric heavy-duty vehicles produced by General Motors since 2021, and sold under the GMC marque. The Hummer EV is offered in two variants: a pickup truck and a sport utility vehicle (SUV), unveiled in October 2020 and April 2021 respectively.
Vehicle Set Strategy (VSS) is a series of four automotive platforms developed by American manufacturer General Motors for their vehicles as part of an effort to consolidate their platform usage for the present and future. GM eventually plans to have the VSS platforms underpin over 75% of their models, the exceptions being the BEV3 platform used for electric vehicles and specialty vehicles like the Corvette.
The Chevrolet Silverado EV is a battery electric full-size pickup truck manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced in January 2022, the Silverado EV went on sale in 2023 for the 2024 model year in the North American market.
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The GM BEV3 platform is a dedicated electric vehicle architecture or platform developed by General Motors. It is the third-generation electric vehicle platform by GM, succeeding the BEV2 platform. It is categorized as a skateboard platform.
'[BT1] is significantly different from T1 ... They are designing it [BT1] from the ground up as an electric platform,' [Sam Fiorani] added, meaning it likely won't have a separate frame with steel rails, but neither will it be unibody, a construction method most frequently used with cars, where the structure is one integrated assembly. Instead, it could be 'a little of each.'