General Motors will add 1,000 engineers and researchers in Michigan over the next two years to significantly expand its vehicle electrification expertise.

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The commitment was made by GM CEO Dan Akerson at an event marking the start of Chevrolet Volt production at Hamtramck.

The new jobs will build on GM’s strategy to develop, validate and manufacture automotive battery, electric motor and power control technologies in-house as core competencies.

“GM is going to lead the industry in the adoption of various vehicle electrification technologies, whether its electric vehicles with extended-range capability, like the Volt, or the recently introduced eAssist technology that will debut on the 2012 Buick LaCrosse,” Akerson said. “We want to give our customers energy choices other than petroleum and to make the automobile part of the solution when it comes to the environment.”

Deep experience and expertise in batteries, electric motors and power controls will ensure GM provides the best possible electric vehicle choices to customers around the world, Akerson said.

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The 2007 reveal of the Chevrolet Volt has spurred a flurry of activity in the electrification of the automobile and has become an economic multiplier for the state of Michigan. GM’s electric vehicle engineering investment expands on the more than US$700m GM has invested in eight facilities in Michigan to support Volt production.

GM has the industry’s largest and most technologically advanced battery systems lab at its Warren, Michigan Technical Center and has invested $336m at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant along with another $43m at the industry’s only battery pack manufacturing plant in Brownstown Township, Michigan.  An additional $162m investment was announced last week to support powertrain operations in Flint and Bay City, Michigan, and Defiance, Ohio.

In addition to GM’s investments, suppliers such as LG Chem, utility companies such as DTE Energy and organisations including the University of Michigan and Wayne State University, are investing in local jobs to support electric vehicle development.

“The state of Michigan is proud to continue our long partnership with GM as it drives toward a leaner, greener future,” state governor Jennifer Granholm said. “As we work to diversify our state’s economy both within the auto industry and outside of it, electric vehicles will play a major role in re-establishing Michigan as the North American centre of automotive manufacturing.”